


Lost Little Trickster

by roxaeri



Series: Modern Mythos AU [1]
Category: God of War
Genre: Gen, Modern Mythos AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-25
Updated: 2018-09-08
Packaged: 2019-05-28 15:45:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 34,281
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15052523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roxaeri/pseuds/roxaeri
Summary: Nothing went how it was supposed to have gone.All Atreus wants to do is go to school, hang out with his hard-won friends, and use his powers without someone trying to hunt him down.Guess that's the trouble that comes with everyone suddenly knowing that Loki was born ages later than he should have been. And while it's his parents most hunters are after, they're also looking for him now; because no one wants an apocalypse happening in this day and age.





	1. Happy Birthday I Guess

When Atreus was born, nothing was readily apparent that anything was different.  


It had been a long day heading into the night, and with each contraction Faye closed her eyes. Her husband made it easy for her to focus on his steady even breaths; easy for her to ignore her clammy palms, or that they trembled. The feeling of Wrong—she wasn't sure if it had anything to do with another premonition or if it came from the ages of running and hiding and fighting to protect her small family.  


Not only was Faye vulnerable, but they were as well. They were understandably distracted. Would be if a fight came along.  


She jumped as she came to, the hand in hers more slender than her husband's. Almost delicate compared to the both of them, but the muscles and bones inside were forged and tested by the gods. The girl—young goddess—smiled at her. It was strained, stiff with worry and crooked from the scar on her face that shouldn't have been there.  


Her grip was strong against Faye's shaking. Understanding. Waiting.  


“Where's Kratos?” Faye said, breaking the strangled silence. The forest was silent outside, leaving a foreboding aura that paired too well with her nerves.  


“Pacing. Looking to see if it's the hunters or—one of those other things.” Calliope told her, squeezing her hand as she looked to the window. “I'm not sure which I would wish for if does turn out to be one of them.”  


“I want neither.” Faye gasped out, muscles tensing unbearably tight.  


Hunters, she was used to those. Those other things—she only ever saw them in this forest. Mimir had no information on them other than to run and be prepared to lose a limb.  


'From the whispers I caught. Old things that never adapted to the new age. Most only evolved to be stronger than anything that pops in their path.'  


That train of thought died the moment she felt her baby moving.  


Somehow everything seemed too easy when he was born not too long after. Sparse fluffy hair and a clear voice. The noise of the landscape returning. Her family beside her and safe. The feeling she had was gone, barely a memory. But the taste of it remained on her tongue. Almost forcing her to speak on something she spent nearly a year denying now.  


Her little family had their own ideas of why Faye repeated Atreus' name the entire night. Each one different and probably correct as well. But as the forefront of her mind was the want and need of this prophecy to be wrong like the one she made all those years ago.  


Calliope lived. She had survived this long. Atreus would never have to live the life she had seen for him.  
Nothing was apparent that anything was different in their reality of defying fate. But nothing was the same either.

* * *

That was obvious the night the baby went missing about a month later.  


Nothing to trip her instincts, or even make a blip on her husband's radar of _something was too close._ Even Calliope, with her hyper awareness of everything within ten miles of where she stands, didn't know Atreus was gone until Faye did.  


Combining their skills, they found him in minutes.  
In the lap of a small child that set them all on edge. Because no human child had eyes that red, that glowed, and warped reality from where they sat.  


“You took my son.” Faye said, holding husband and daughter back beside her.  


“You live in my forest.” Their voice was flat, scratchy and weak as if they had been screaming for days. “He was born here. In my domain.”  


“You were the one who came by the house.”  


“I was hungry,” That had them tensing, “And _wanagi_ always go for babies. People who can see things and hear things like you do.” The words coming out of the child's mouth was eerie, coupled with how still they were; how blank their face was even as their eyes expressed every emotion. Almost as if they were projecting to her.  


“Gods are only a bonus for them. There were enough around your house that day to make me full.” They looked down then, running a finger lightly over Atreus' eyebrow. “I've never been that full before.”  


“So you—eat those creatures?” Creatures that enjoyed eating gods, by the sounds of it.  


“Are you going to abandon him?”  


Faye stopped dead, a moment where the world floated around her before focusing around the child as reality settled around them. This was the moment that mattered.  


“I have waited so long—much longer than you have been alive—to hold him in my arms. To love him. I would not abandon him for any reason.” She said truthfully.  


“Everyone says that,” They moved, small as they stood there with her baby in their arms. “But you won't know what to do. You don't know--” They stopped, face scrunching closed as they shook their head.  


“Don't know what?”  


“He was born here in my domain.” They repeated, now obviously hyper-focused, hugging Atreus close. “Children are sacred. Even I know that. But if you abandon him, I'll take him and leave you to the _wanagi_.”  


The child shifted, leaving them dazed even as they tried to keep an eye on Atreus. A small fox kit, red fur shining strangely in the moonlight. They barely had a second to take in their new form before they dashed off, faster than they expected.  


Atreus was fine, content and asleep and smelling of creek water and the smoked leather pelt he was wrapped in.

* * *

“I asked around about this forest. It took a long while—obviously.” Months of weaseling into local circles and drudging up old connections who moved to North America. “Wasn't much information on it because no one ever comes here, and people are tight-lipped about it. Lest they summon her, they said.” Mimir said, mechanical fingers flipping through his book of notes.  


“Why is that?” Kratos asked, inspecting the pelt left with Atreus. It was fine and soft, but he was unsure of what animal or creature it came from. Faye was unsure if she truly wanted to know.  


“It's the domain of a trickster spirit.” Mimir found the page he was looking for and slid it across to them. “Shape-shifter. But born the daughter of an evil fox spirit from elsewhere and one of the major tricksters on this continent. Not a nice one, either, I'm told. And it shows. Abandoned here and protects it fiercely. No one makes it through her illusions unscathed.”  


“No one but us.” Faye corrected. “We came here after I found out I was pregnant. Somehow, the trickster knew.”  


“The trickster knew more than she should have.” Kratos added. His skin still crawled whenever he thought of the creatures—the wanagi—and how quickly they had vanished the day his son was born. Where he had to expend his powers as risk of alerting the hunters, the child simply feasted on the monsters.  


“In her domain, of course she would. Probably took that information the day we came here.”  


“Faye!” Calliope shouted from the other room. Her voice was sharp, choked, urgent.  


She was there before she knew it. Calliope was in a defensive stance, eyes wide as her gaze circled the room before landing on her.  


“Faye—I can't find the baby!”  


“W-what?!” She was ready to bolt, senses thrown out for the boy before Calliope held her in place.  


“No—not like that. He's here, but,” Her words were interrupted by a chiming giggle that echoed around the room, “I can't see him.”  


“What happened?” Faye took careful steps to sit in the center of the floor.  


“I was changing him and then—he just kind of faded away before my eyes.” Calliope hugged herself, still glancing around as the ghostly giggle bounced off the walls. “Tried to see if he was still on the changing table, but he wasn't. I've gone around this whole room feeling for him but I can't.”  


“Powers are showing through.” She said, smiling at the thought. Calliope had told her she didn't sense any evident god powers from Atreus. Figured it had to be Faye's blood and genetics that altered them as much as Calliope's mothers altered her godhood. “Atreus! Atreus, mummy's here.”  


The resounding giggle was brighter and louder than they expected, causing them to flinch. Faye sat there, waiting until she felt a gentle bump against her back. Her hand landed on his hair, laughing as he tugged on her shirt. He came back into view, gurgling and cooing, and let himself fall into her arms.  


“We're okay.” Faye said, gently spinning around as she stood.  


“And that is the last time I let him watch the Incredibles.”  


Somehow, Faye realized years later, she missed the signs that would have told her everything she needed to know to see how her son's life would go.

* * *

 

It was his birthday.  


That was his only thought as he checked his phone, unsure why he woke up in the first place until a shiver ran down his spine. It was familiar and icy and had the taste of blood flooding his mouth. That never boded well for him.  


Atreus was determined to roll back over and forget it ever happened before a stone hit the screen of his window with a dulled _thunk_. He waited for the next three to tell him if it was the squirrels messing with him again, or— _tap, thunk, thump!_  


He stopped, instincts telling him it was safe while also warning him that something he wasn't going to like would happen. That was always the risk whenever his current visitor showed up. And maybe he should take it as a sign that he shouldn't go outside. His parents would appreciate it, he knew, but Atreus also trusted his gut feelings to get him out of any situation before it went crashing downhill.  


The third time the patter plays out on his window, he's pulling a sweater on. Something told him he would regret going outside with no shoes on.  


“I wondered if you were actually sleeping.” Red eyes shined at him from the underbrush. Atreus tossed himself down at the base of the tree across from them.  


“And what if my dad were awake?” He said, taking relief in the fact that the feeling hadn't gotten stronger.  


“Well, he hasn't caught up with me yet.” The shift between their forms always gave Atreus a headache. A rapid flickering that made him feel like he was blinking when he wasn't, and seemed to warp whatever surroundings they were in. “War gods aren't all that impressive.”  


“You avoid him like a human avoids the plague,” Atreus rolled his eyes, still finding himself smiling. “Besides, he's one of the major war gods of the world.”  


“As if that means anything,” Hip cocked and arms crossed, their teeth bright in the dark, “I've met plenty a trickster who aren't considered Major, but put many of your major gods to shame.”  


“That I don't doubt.” Atreus conceded. “But why did you call me out here at three in the morning, Seung? Want to set some demons on me or something?” Not that he believed anything preternatural other than the creature before him stalked their forest currently.  


“Nothing like that.”  


“Sungilah--”  


“Atreus, I swear on my mother's liver that I have nothing in the works for you.” That had him hesitating.  


“I don't know if I should trust that. We're friends, and I know how your mom feels about liver, but you're also a trickster.” His words had the shape-shifter laughing.  


“Okay, then I admit I lied.” That almost had him shooting to his feet before a knife pierced the ground between his bare feet. “Happy Birthday.” The blade was curved and light, feeling almost hollow, but sharp. It was plain compared to the one curving around the trickster's thigh.  


“A bone knife?” Atreus could tell that much about it. It was a bone bleached by the sun.  


“Made from the rib of a—creature I'm sure you'd be better off not knowing about. Take it or leave it.” They shrugged before shifting again, facing Atreus as a small red fox before their fur darkened to black. “Your birthday is important to you, so I had to see you at least once before your family stole your time.”  


“Thanks.” And that warms him a bit, that someone who didn't have a strong grasp on the concept of others' emotions and motivations took notice of something like his birthday. Accepting the knife had another shiver going through him; it wasn't wrong like the one he had when he woke up, but one that had his muscles tightening, aching and itching with a vibration that rattled his bones.  


“Wait, Sungilah--” He looked up to find the fox, only to sigh in disappointment when he realized that they was already gone.  


The trek back to the house was a good distance that had his feet freezing by the time he stepped back inside. He was right; Atreus regretted not taking the time to put shoes on. At thirteen as of one in the morning, he should know better. Sungilah usually met him where his mother's wards melted into the trickster's protective illusions. That guaranteed the fox a quick escape route should either of his parents' senses detect their presence.  


Atreus watched his breath mist through the air in his room, hands shaking and feet numb as he stumbled over to close his window. Even as he felt his heart beat hard and fast through his chest, his limbs felt too light and hollow. The feeling was back, and the burst of energy he got from his gift did little to battle it down.

* * *

Everything from his early morning jaunt through the woods seemed only like a dream, the only evidence it happened is the bone knife hidden along his thigh underneath his holster bag. It wasn't the smartest way to carry the thing, but it gave him some comfort. Especially since his mother was heavily armed for a simple hunt and his father remained closer than usual.  


“Mom—are you okay?” Atreus watched her, hoping to catch what she actually felt under her composure, but missed it.  


“I'm fine Atreus.” That had him thinking she felt the same thing he did. “No wandering into the forest proper. Let's not disturb the fox.”  


'Too late for that.' Atreus thought as he tracked down a big cat that wandered in. His dad had noticed the tracks the day before, and maybe it was a test but it made him feel good that they trusted him to find it.  


They were maybe an hour into the hunt when he found fresh tracks—covered in cobwebs. Atreus hadn't noticed it at first. He crouched down to check on something that caught his eye near the path the cat took, but the leaves his hand brushed against hid the webs from his view. Feeling the bold silky strands stick to his skin had him shivering violently, the iron taste of blood returning as he stumbled back. The solid wall of muscle behind him was steadying as the feelings tried to overwhelm him; his dad's heavy had a comfort on his shoulder.  


“What is it, Faye?”  


“Bone webbing.” His mother's answer had him reaching for the knife at his thigh. She forged ahead, focused. “There's been intruders and Sungilah's called for back up by the looks of it. Our big cat hasn't seemed to survive—whatever happened.”  


“Do we—what do we do?” Atreus understood the implications of a trickster calling for backup. Especially asking for help from the creator of the webs that were glued to his hand. Even being on the infantile side of immortal, Sungilah was a trickster. They had ever evolving powers and followed no rules but those they made for themselves. Whatever wandered in was A Problem, but was it enough for his family to join in on the fight?  


That decision was made when his father stepped past him, following the struggle himself.  


It always amazed Atreus how silent his parents could be keeping a steady pace through the forest. All he could hear was the sound of the forest, a hollow silence that echoed with fear and unease. Anger.  


What they came upon told an entire story, but left many questions behind.  


It wasn't the first time he saw a territory struggle in progress. Atreus has seen plenty—a lot more than either of his parents.  


Sungilah was a trickster demi-god, born from an evil fox spirit and one of the major trickster gods. Their domain is the one his family settled in before he was born. The fox had been apart of his life for as long as he can remember. And the many times he sneaked out where he saw challenges like the one currently going down.  


But those, the fox handled by themselves. Always. Something about this fight was different. Something more was at stake.  


The young trickster was worse off than earlier that morning. Hair loose and clothes shredded. He wondered how hard their opponent was striking to leave bruises as large and dark on the ones he could see. And while Atreus knew that Sungilah was more than capable of using weapons, the fox had reverted to base instincts.  


He jerked hard as the fox flew overhead, hitting a tree just behind him hard enough to cause it to crack.  


His parents jumped in to confront the aggressor, leaving him free to run to check on his friend.  


“Seung?! You okay?” Atreus barely touched their arm before he was flipped over, face to face with a feral demi-god.  


“Leave!” Sungilah shouted at him, eyes flashing wildly and fangs bared. Claws dragged against his skin as he was hauled to his feet and tossed back through the trees. Atreus hit the ground hard, grunting as he rolled back into a standing position. Determined to help his friend and family, he ran forward. There was a sudden jerk to side, arm and leg suspended in the air as he was jerked back.  


More bone webbing, but their creator was nowhere in sight.  


“Seung!” Atreus struggled, feeling the webs pull at his skin and clothes, but all he could see was the shifting reality around the trickster. The fight seemed like a choreographed action sequence. It was too perfect and cinematic and he would have believed it to be if it weren't for his attempts to reach any one of his knives.  


He was aware of Sungilah barreling through his parents and tackling the intruder, a spray of blood and a shout following. But he was currently focused on how his dwarven-made knife couldn't even saw through the strands of webbing holding him back.  


“Stupid—territory magic!” He growled out, hitting his knife against one of the ropes. Even with the force of his own powers behind it, his knife bounced off harmlessly. Atreus let himself dangle for a moment before he remembered his birthday gift. It was hard to reach the bone knife, and he had to pull himself up while bending his back as far as he could to even reach his holster. The relief of curling his fingers around the ridged surface had him barking out a short laugh before he swung back around to slice at the webs holding onto his arm.  


It took him too long to free himself, wishing Calliope had arrived faster than she predicted. His sister was always attuned to him in battle. Maybe because she was trained by Amazons, or just the fact that she was his sister, but he never had to struggle alone like this with her around.  


Which he understood. His parents were focused on helping the trickster. Atreus was surprised when he noticed that Sungilah was allowing them to help. His father defended them from a distance while his mother stuck close and blocked every attack that came near. That gave Sungilah the freedom to focus on attacking.  


Atreus pulled his bow, taking a deep breath as he aimed. Dwarven-made arrows, a gift sent to him by his adoptive uncles for his birthday. They were supposed to strike whatever he aimed for, damn whatever was in the way. But that shouldn't mean Atreus could fire them off without thinking. His father would take his bow again.  


“Shoot for . . .” It was easy enough to reach out with his senses, letting them tell him where to aim. A simple hunting trick his mother taught him. “The left side. Just above the hip.” It was a quick shot, and Atreus probably used more power than he should have.  


It paid off, electricity coursing through the intruder and stalling him long enough for Sungilah to shout to the trees. Webs shot down in response, trapping them and killing his arrow. With a solid kick off on his chest, Sungilah had them sticking to a tree.  


“You broke the code!” It growled as they neared. Atreus stopped beside his mom, taking comfort as she held him to her side.  


“You're not here for me!” Sungilah shouted, a void around them as their energy settled. “You came for them, and I told everyone I would destroy anyone who did.” They bristled, eyes still glowing in anger.  


“I could care less about gods who break fate,” The creature spat, squirming violently in it's bonds. “I care that you're protecting him! That little--”  


“The laws of my domain are no concern of yours!” The fox said, the sudden fluttering of the world around them telling Atreus just how they were feeling. “Especially since you can't break those.” The world pulsed, and the fox seemed too close to snapping.  


“Sungilah,” A commanding voice stopped everything in their tracks, jolting Atreus out of his thoughts. He couldn't understand the words, and what little he knew of their language didn't help him. There was a lot of information coming out now, and he was still riding the high of the fight. It was hard for him to focus. His mom had a worried look on her face as she checked the trees for the voice that drifted over them.  


“Child, if there were a time to explain, now would be it.” She interjected, stepping before his father. She had the sense and respect to not stare the younger trickster directly in the eye. Sungilah ducked, ears flat and body low as their eyes shifting about.  


“You said birthdays are meant to be happy. A celebration.” Words short and clipped, accent heavy. Atreus nodded, unable to speak with his throat and eyes burning. The feeling was back and he forced himself to ignore it to focus on the situation.  


“W-why,” He tried anyways, voice hoarse and weak, “Why are you protecting me?”  


“Because they're tricksters--” Sungilah was uncomfortable and silent, sensing his emotions, “--Because you're _one of us._ ”  


The world expanded, before imploding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh--it's here! Finally, finally. The Modern Era part of my Modern Mythos AU.


	2. Good Luck Kiddo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Aftermath of Atreus' Birthday

He wasn't sure how long he spent in his head.  


His dreams could hold him for much longer than the time he actually sleeps. Atreus was told it happened to plenty of Jötnar, and some could spend years seeing prophecies or visions their dreams had to tell them. Most were usually to help one see things they might have missed in something that had happened.  


The fight—that's what he was looking at. He felt too hyper-focused as he observed everything, that his eyes should be straining and tired by now. That was a feeling he was used to whenever he fell into these sort of dreams.  


“So he is a trickster,” Atreus thought—the words drifted out around him as a distant noise, “But he isn't as strong at shape-shifting.”  


Next to Sungilah, the intruder barely made a disturbance. Where the fox was a storm, a natural disaster that wasn't too aware of the effect they had on reality, the man was barely a puddle in a pothole. His creature form was obscure during the real-time fight, but here Atreus could see that it wasn't as impressive or a natural ability like Sungilah's. Even then, he wasn’t too sure what kind of creature he was looking at. As if separate forms merged into a singular entity due to lack of concentration.  


“Enough of a skill that he can mess with mom and dad. And me.”  


Atreus always was able to get a glimpse behind his friend's illusions. Mimir theorized that it was because his godhood mixing with his Jötnar genes planted him solidly among magic users. But that didn't stop anyone from teaching him to fight. He came from a family of warriors. It was to be expected really.  


But this man had to more like Atreus' dad. His power was built in his strength. An advantage over other tricksters if one knew how to use it, evident by the injuries to Sungilah, but not enough to overpower his mother alone.  


“He's got a mark of the hunters—but not from any camp I've ever seen.”  


It was a medallion right under where Atreus shot him, and it seemed to be a more modern design. Something he would see being sold on an online craft shop that sells enamel pins. But it didn't tell him where the trickster might have come from, why they were working for hunters, and why—

* * *

Atreus coughs as he comes to, the faint taste of magic and negativity in his mouth making him ill. It's automatic for him to lean over the bed to cough into the trash. It's too much even for his body, and the comforting hand on his forehead burns too much. He's never been able to handle anyone touching him while he's sick. And it happened too often for him to be comfortable calling himself a god.  


“Why didn't you tell me?” Atreus said, his voice the definition of destroyed. “You said you knew all the calling cards of the tricksters. Even signs of fledgling ones. You and Mimir.” His mom's face fell, and the cyborg sat himself down in Atreus' desk chair.  


“We didn't know, Atreus.” Faye's gaze went distant as she seemed to look back. “There's nothing I can recall that would have told us you were.”  


“Even if there were, it would have been passed off as the powers of two pantheons mixing.” Mimir added, arms crossed as he began thinking. “I'm no trickster, but I've known quite a few. The theory among them and anyone who studies them is that tricksters are born when the sources of their pantheons clash. A god of the two—or more sometimes—comes about when the sources blend together. Tricksters, well, the sources mesh together into one being, but they're fighting the entire time.”  


“So what does that mean?” At times where his powers react to his emotions, Atreus is glad Mimir is sense and structured thought. It was calming, listening to him talk.  


“Well, gods who can harness the powers of their pantheons are strong. More than one source to call upon. But Tricksters—och, they're ever evolving. That's because it's thought that the clash of powers inside them spits out power much like how the trickster was born. The more use they get, the more they grow. But that also breeds the possibility of backlash.”  


“Backlash?”  


“Where their power turns on them, and tears them apart.” His dad supplied, earning a solemn nod from Mimir. It caused his mother to grab his hand.  


“That's the reason the newest generation of tricksters is more heavily regulated than the past ones. Why there's more of them now.”  


“What happened to the hunter?” Atreus scooted to the edge to sit, accepting the water his mother had for him.  


“We don't know.” His dad answered, even more grim. “You saw the fight in your dreams?”  


“Yeah. He was a hunter. Modern camp. Strength-based powers. Sucky shape-shifting abilities for a trickster.” Atreus stopped himself, not only because he had no more information to give them, but because he wasn't one to talk. If Sungilah was right—a strong possibility with how easily his mother accepted the news—then his shifting skills were far below that of any magic-based trickster.

* * *

 

Atreus found himself breathing hard, struggling as he forced himself through the illusions in the forest. Normally, Sungilah was around to show him where to step and to phase him through the visions. Tonight, he was alone.  


The forest was aware. He could feel it digging through him, upset at the disturbance he was making searching for the fox. Yet it also was familiar with him enough to leave him to his mission.  


“Sungilah!” He called out, jogging to a stop. “Seung, where are you?!”  


It was always a risk calling out to them. Atreus was never sure what side of his friend he would face when they answered. Anyone would call him an idiot for calling a trickster—one that was also lived with the preternatural genetics of an evil spirit. He didn't have time to regret his actions as the sound of the forest died away, animals scrambling to hide and run from the creature who was always whirling through the trees.  


The feeling hit him a second before the webs shot out, ensnaring the tree behind where he stood. Atreus was glad he nicked the bone knife off of Mimir before leaving, otherwise he would have nothing to counter the hardened silk strands.  


“You're stereotyping yourself, Atreus. Aiming to become the next big trickster?” The voice was strange, a scraping and clicking sound. More fluid and shifting than Sungilah's clipped accent. And the man that stared down at him from the trees messed with the world around him just as the fox did.  


Something about what he said put Atreus more on edge than his presence.  


“I guess I am,” He answered, frazzled before he corrected himself, “I don't know. Where's Seung—Sungilah? What happened to the hunter?”  


“I left him to the wanagi.” The grin that flashed at him in the dark was too bright and full of dripping fangs. Teeth meant to tear, and poison that reacted however the trickster wished.  


“And his camp?”  


“You won't have to worry about them. My girl took care of them.”  


“Seung isn’t just a girl.”  


“That child has never shared the intricacies of her being Two-Spirit. In more ways than one.”  


“That's not funny, Iki.” Atreus sliced through the webbing coming at him, arm jolting painfully at the force behind them. He had to remember he wasn’t talking to his friend's father, but one of the creatures of the oldest generation of tricksters to survive.  


“Isn’t it, Atreus. Who am I to judge? Well,” He dropped down, those red eyes were too familiar and too strange, “I judge a lot. Like, how can you really be a trickster? You're small and weak and you can't even use that to your advantage--!”  


“Well someone came looking for me because I am one!” He felt his anger rising and while that was always a bad idea, Atreus felt it was going to be much worse now that he wasn’t just a demi-god.  


With that in mind, Atreus shot past the man. It was a risk to watch him shift, but it would be worse if Atreus didn’t see where he scuttled off to. And it paid off as webs raced after him.  


“Sungilah!” He tried to call out again. The elder trickster could only be there by breaking the fox's laws. Atreus envisioned himself as a wisp, slipping through the gaps that opened up in the illusions. Iktomi, however, tore through whatever he touched. Already, Atreus could see the holes left behind whenever he looked for the trickster.  


His energy wouldn’t keep up with someone who once transformed into an eldritch being that he still had lucid nightmares about.  


“Seung—I could use a little help getting home.” Atreus said, feeling a crack in his arm as he sliced through another blast of bone webbing. He turned in time to see a regular web spread out before him, too delicate for the trickster chasing him to have made. There was no time to change directions, no time to even try jumping it, before he went barreling through.  


Atreus threw up his arms, not expecting the knife-like slices through his clothes and exposed skin. A distant thought had him wondering if his blood was worth worrying about before he went crashing into a solid wall. Groaning, he looked up to see familiar golden eyes and blazing tattoo.  


“Dad—dad, wait!” He scrambled back into the dirt as much as he could, breathing out in relief as the rage left his dad's face. It was one thing to get in trouble for sneaking out, another to face his father when he was prepared to attack. Atreus wasn’t sure how long he spent going through illusions and the force of the forest, let alone having to do so while being chased, but he noticed that he had ended up just inside his mother's wards. The first light of day was already brushing up onto the sky,  


“Atreus! What happened?!” His mom came to his side, hair messy and tickling his face as it slipped over her shoulder.  


“Where did you go?” His dad was furious, but wary as he searched the forest beyond.  


“I went,” He coughed, still too tired to try sitting up, “to find Seung. We needed answers. None of you wanted to ask.”  


“Atreus, that isn’t your job—”  


“I live here, too. And he was after me. I had to know.” Atreus said, holding still as his mom poked around at the cuts on his face. He could feel the blood spilling out of them, and the one above his brow was starting to pool down into his eye. His hands and fingers were the bigger mess; the first part of him to hit the cobweb.  


His mom had a certain look on her face that left him feeling dizzy as he tried to read her, so he steadied himself by gripping her wrists.  


“Am I really a trickster? Would you be able to tell if they lied?”  


“. . . I can’t read Sungilah and the spider. They know how to mess with our foresight and intuition.” She paused, sighing. “But the hunter wasn’t. He was an open book. And all he had on his mind was killing you for being one of them.”  


“W-why me? How did he know?”  


“I don’t know, Atreus.”  


“What did you find out from the fox?” His dad said, kneeling beside them. Atreus thought back, flinching as his mom touched his arm.  


“Seung didn’t answer me. It was Ikt—Iki.” He corrected himself. Atreus didn’t want another encounter with the trickster. Already his parents looked like they wanted to try to murder the creature for hurting Atreus. “He said he left the hunter to the wanagi, and that Seung took care of the camp.” That could mean any number of things he didn’t want to think on.  


Compared to his longtime friend, the spider was right. Atreus really didn’t know how to use his current skills and being to his advantage. If every encounter ended similar to this one, he wouldn’t survive in the long run.

* * *

 

Atreus lay upside down on the couch, doing his very best not to think. His hands were still tingling and numb and sent sparks of pain racing along his bones to his shoulders. But feeling the roughness of the scales against his fingertips helped to ground him.  


“What do you think, Jörmungandr? This meeting going to go any better than my run in with Iktomi?” His question was met with fiery amber eyes flicking open to stare at him. Another moment before the serpent responded.  


“Yooou are okaaay.” He breathed out.  


“Either way, you got my back, right?” Atreus smiled as the snake sat up, putting his head under his open hand.  


“Yeeeess.”  


“Good job on the English.” That seemed to satisfy the snake even as the doorbell rang.  


“Gooood joooob.” Jörmungandr repeated, slithering along his shoulders. Atreus helped to support the rest of his body as he was called to the dining room. It really was a comfort to him to have the serpent around. Living with an unbreakable curse still hasn’t broken the Jötnar's fighting spirit. And he's been a great babysitter and friend over the years.  


Whatever he expected when he walked in the room—well, it wasn’t a man with a coyote head in a suit.  


“Atreus. This is the Representative from the Department of Preternatural Regulations.” His mom began.  


“Trickster Division. Coyote is fine.”  


“Uh, hi. I’m Atreus.” He saw the trickster zero in months serpent on his shoulders. “And this is Jörmungandr. He's lived with us since before I was born.”  


“Named after the Midgard Serpent. Interesting.”  


Atreus smiled, a bit strained, as he could only think how Coyote would react to knowing that the six-foot snake was the actual Midgard Serpent instead of just another local horned snake.  


“Yeah.” He sat down next to his mother, forcing himself to focus. He was grateful Jörmungandr didn’t mind being pet, and that he couldn’t call Atreus out for agitating the injuries to his hands. “So how is this going down?”  


“Well, it's been mentioned to us that there are hunters after your family. Mainly your parents, thus you having settled in the domain of a trickster that very few can enter. Let alone the fact that no one wants to face the Amazons or Sungilah.”  


“Do you know how Seung's doing?” Atreus interrupted.  


“Kid's fine. Spending time with her step-mother and terrorizing the shadow beings in her father's domain.” Coyote found what papers he was looking for and slid them over. “Under today's agreed upon laws, we’ve left everything as vague as possible. Atreus is a trickster registered in Sungilah's domain, being cared for by the caretakers of the forest here.”  


“No one will be able to find us at all under this description?”  


“Almost all profiles are written this way. Many trickster children are abandoned and resettled near an elder trickster for guidance and protection. This makes the most sense, considering that I’ve been told he was born here.” There was a peculiar look on his face that had both Atreus and his mom locking onto those thoughts. There was pain, anger, but above all _loss_ —  


“No one blames Sungilah for reacting the way she has, or for hiding you for thirteen years.”  


“But now that you know about him, what happens?” His mom passed every page she read to his dad, who held them as he watched Coyote.  


“School.”

* * *

 

“You can't seriously be thinking of sending me to school,” Atreus looked between his parents as they sat in his mother's office, “Because that's dangerous isn’t it? That’s why I've never gone outside the forest. You both said so. And besides, I already—”  


“We know your human education, Atreus.” His mom said, reading over the papers left to them once more. “We know it's a risk we're taking here, but . . .” She rested her head in her hand for a moment, before brushing her hair back and looking at him. There were days where she was more tired, almost exhausted, but it was the price she had to pay to be there with them today. “Baby, you need to learn everything they have to tell you. You don't have to take the rest of your classes seriously. Well, it'd be nice if you had believable grades. Keep up some sort of appearance with the mortals.”  


“You’re already thirteen years behind your generation. You operate like an outsider does, no matter how close you are to the fox,” His dad said. “What you will learn will help you survive a fight like you saw on your birthday. That is information you could have used when the spider chased you.”  


“We can teach you everything we know about the other tricksters, how spot fledgling ones, the calls and the tells. But we do not have the experience or knowledge to teach you about yourself.”  


“But they can guarantee I’ll be safe there, right? Neither of you can leave the forest for very long.” That was his main worry. His parents risked exposing their location should they ever have to rush to his aid. His father had too much explosive power to hide it very well.  


“Calliope has pushed the issue through. She's still settling the details with the department and the school.” His mom waved an envelope at him, one that had come flying at his head earlier while still meeting with Coyote. “As said, no one wants a fight with the Amazons, even if they don’t know why she's demanding protection for you.”  


“So I take it she's not coming on the day she said she would.” Atreus could almost taste his disappointment before his mom smiled.  


“No, she'll be here as she said. She wants to take you shopping.”  


“Shopping?”

* * *

 

“Well, you can’t expect me to see you off to school without making sure you’re set for it.” Calliope was making strides beside him, still much taller than Atreus. He had growth spurt recently, and he still felt small beside her.  


“But I already own enough clothes and mom has office supplies.” He said, feeling an itch under his skin and a tingle throughout his upper back that made him believe someone was watching them. But his sister would react much faster than he would. Maybe it was just his nerves getting to him.  


“Atreus,” She played with the hair at the back of his head, smiling, “That's not blending in. Most kids your age, human or not, don’t follow along with their parents very well. Do you really think I'd dress like this among the Amazons?”  


Calliope arrived on time as she said she would, but having just come from a meeting with the school and it's faculty for his parents. Her dress pants and blazer weren’t very practical for any warrior, and her blouse would stand out in the forest. Her hair was as it always was: in a pristine high ponytail that was braided down her back, decorated with a metal hair clip he knew held a poisoned needle inside. Her platform boots were a familiar sight, though. The black leather hid the fact that they were made of a magical metal and that there were probably ten different weapons hidden in the heel and along the bottom.  


“Well, no?” Atreus knew she wouldn’t blend in to the forest or even match the Amazons, but she looked right at home in the mall she took him to.  


Atreus never had to buy anything for himself as Mimir did their shopping. Anything extra came from Brok and Sindri, and those were usually just weapons.  


“So what kind of kid are you Atreus?”  


“Hm? Well, you know me,” He said, trailing off as Calliope fixed him with a stare. “Oh! I guess . . .” He looked down at himself and thought of the people he would see coming through the forest.  


“I like clothes that are easy to move. In case I need to run.” Atreus didn’t know what else to tell her, but it seemed like the right thing as she lead him into their first store.

* * *

 

Atreus played with the strap on his new jacket, wishing he were able to bring a knife along. Anything but being weaponless would give him some sort of comfort.  


Calliope held him close, giving her best glare to anyone who dared to look his way. Coyote walked ahead of them, rubbing his jaw absentmindedly. Atreus was sure the discomfort rolling off the trickster had to do with the fact he wore a human face and lost his tail.  


“Why did I have to come here today?” Atreus stopped his fidgeting to hug himself closer to his sister. She patted his shoulder, offering a small smile.  


“They said it's to meet your advisor and homeroom teacher.”  


“You'll be given a rundown of how things are run, what they expect of you, and your current knowledge of the world.”  


“I—think I know a lot.” He wasn’t too sure. The cashiers at the mall were surprised at everything Calliope was buying for him. So there was something about money and spending that he didn’t understand. “I just know I don’t know everything. Obviously.”  


He glanced around as they continued, Coyote stopping every now and then to talk to a few of the people who recognized his human appearance. Calliope remained mostly silent. Occasionally she would whisper to him—Greek, with the woman occasionally slipping ancient dialect in out of habit—and sometimes ask a question of the trickster.  


It couldn’t have been more than ten minutes before Coyote knocked on a closed classroom door.  


“Hello?” The man who answered seemed harried, body positioned in such a way that he was blocking the view of the class behind him.  


“Wolfram. A joy to see you.”  


“Just you, or . . . ?” He stopped once he noticed Atreus and Calliope. Blue eyes were too clear, too sharp, as they focused on the two of them.  


“I bring you Atreus, your new student.”  


“Hm.” That had him pulling back and ushering them inside. Atreus noticed the stares of the others gathered. They were whispering and their curiosity about him nearly choked him up. He must have done something noticeable as Wolfram blocked him from their sight, waving them towards the door. “Alright, the rest of you. Gonna cut your visiting hours short. Let's _move_.”  


Atreus moved himself to keep both Calliope and Wolfram between him and the other kids. It did little to keep them out of his head, and their emotions separate from his own. Once the door closed he realized there must be something about the room, as he could no longer hear or feel them.  


“How are you doing?”  


Atreus winced, forgetting he wasn’t just with his sister. The man had his arms crossed as he waited, head tilted.  


“Better with them gone?”  


“Uh, yeah.”  


“It's just gonna be us today. Your advisor's a bit caught up with an after-school appointment. You'll be having them with Stella as well once you start here. Your first one is scheduled for your first day.”  


“And what do they entail?” Calliope asked, still holding him close.”  


“Forgive me, Your—”  


“You don’t need to be overtly formal with me. I don’t need school kids accidentally blabbing more about the Amazon who delivers the new kid to school.”  


“Of course. Lady Calliope,” He paused for her approval before continuing, “It would be better if Atreus asked his own questions. He won't have you beside him all day everyday.”  


“And this is where you will learn they Atreus does ask his own questions. It won’t always be out loud. He was raised in a forest. He was raised to hunt and survive.” Calliope flipped her hair back over her shoulder. “It's a skill he's always had and it's saved his life and others more than once. Of course he could direct it at you, but that would be rude. Wouldn’t it?”  


“A good point, but Atreus,” Wolfram turned to him, “I agree with allowing you to use this skill on me and any of the preternatural staff who consent to it. Your human teachers, however—well, we expect you to act as a human would. No powers may be used on them. You understand?”  


“Yes, sir.” He mumbled out. Wolfram wasn’t too easy for him to read. Atreus figured it had to do with the tattoos he saw just under his sleeves on his shoulder. Maybe they worked liked Atreus' did.  


“Since you noticed these, do you have any questions?” Wolfram tapped his arm. Atreus nodded, pulling aside his shirt collar and jacket to show the man the one running down his neck. There was a semi-fresh one along his spine that was supposed to help shield him outside his mom's wards. He wasn’t too sure if there was going to be a physical reaction to anyone trying to harm him. Sungilah hadn't appeared yet for him to test it.  


“I was told I'd probably have to hide these.”  


“You will. There are human laws that prevent anyone under sixteen getting tattooed.” So Atreus had three years to go before he wouldn’t have to worry about it.  


“We're a bit out of order here. Call me Mr. Wolfram. I'll be your teacher here at Lakewood High.”  


“Wait, high school?” Atreus turned to the trickster. He had been too nervous to realize just where they enrolled him. “I thought I wasn’t old enough.”  


“We decided that you would need a steady, familiar mentorship with whichever teacher you started out with. Lady Calliope has assured us that you have the general education to handle the classes.”  


“I mean, yeah? I just—wasn’t expecting high school.”  


“Which is why we're taking the time to test your knowledge today.” Wolfram waved a packet in front of him. “This is the standardized test most kids take in eighth grade. If you pass, you'll start school right away. If not, you’ll sit down with a tutor until you can, and then you'll join the current freshman class. Either way, you'll be here everyday for homeroom and club activities.”  


“Okay.” Already it felt like the next few days would be as intense as it had been since his birthday.  


Wolfram gave Atreus a crooked smile, emphasizing a scar across his mouth like Atreus', and offered his hand. He remembered etiquette lessons he had with Mimir—should he ever find himself among people other than his family—and took it.  


“Welcome to your preternatural freshman orientation, Atreus.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one took longer than I thought due to an unexpected flare up.


	3. Crash Course

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Atreus' first day of school

The afternoon Atreus looks at the door to his homeroom class, he gets a heavy feeling in his stomach. It's rolling and weighing him down. His dread building the longer he stands there, because despite all the precautions he's worked through with his teacher and the department, he can still feel the near overwhelming emotions and thoughts of those inside. Really, the week—or even his day—leading up to this moment should have been warning for everyone of what happened when the door opened.

* * *

The first few days of his evening orientation and classes with Wolfram and Coyote were hectic. It was mostly them trying to figure out everything he knew about humans, and they accepted anything he gleaned off of any type of media over the years.

“I don't—watch movies all that much? Or even really play games. Most of my time is spent in the forest,” Atreus said. Calliope wasn't that much help here seeing as she wasn't around in person all too often.

“Okay, that leads to the question: Do you live in a house?”

“Um, yeah?” He looked to his sister, who had a carefully crafted look on her face. Coyote was also artfully blank.

“Your complete profile as a registered trickster is kept secret, under lock and key of your representative Mr. Coyote here. Any information we receive here at the school is simply of your preternatural status,” Wolfram said, tapping his pen against the table. “Anything else is offered voluntarily. Your advisor Stella also uses this information to assess the help we offer to our students. Usually it's food or clothing, or even a place to live. But you are a special case seeing as you're entering as a proven trickster and that you live outside of the district.”

“Atreus does live in a house. Fully furnished, with plumbing and electricity. There is store bought food as well as what he and his caretakers hunt for in the woods. And I personally have seen to his school wardrobe, which is as eclectic as any thirteen year-old can be. As for why he doesn't consume media like most kids his age is due to the fact that he falls for the suspension of reality.”

“And his powers react accordingly.”

“Yes. It was a lesson well learned after his invisible act when I put on the Incredibles for us to watch when Atreus was a baby, and the many instances since.” That explained the turmoil in his sister, but he wondered why it never came up before. He always just assumed that his parents were too used to how life was when they weren't on the run and in hiding in ancient times.

“And it's not always easy getting electronics to work at home.”

“Because of the fox?” Wolfram had a certain look to him that Atreus couldn't read no matter how hard he tried.

“Yeah.” And that needed no further explanation. It felt strange to him, and his sister, that someone would know the trickster that well.

* * *

And the few days following those were a continuing crash course in being a human teen in high school. Calliope wasn't much help to Atreus due to her not having taken a high school course in decades.

“It's easier for me to blend in now with the increase of average height of humans, but even university courses are becoming stale. In class or online.” Calliope explained. “I would still have to wait several years before applying again under a different pseudonym and glamour.”

“Take up teaching,” Wolfram said, going over one of Atreus' pop quizzes.

“Can't. I have obligations to the Amazons that take up a majority of my time during the year.” She was answering messages, which seemed never ending. Her work load increased ever since she began to work with Coyote on settling things with the human government.

There was an issue with his legal guardianship since Calliope didn't live in the country, Sungilah didn't appear to be much older than someone in their mid- to late-teens, and it wasn't exactly safe for his mother to even leave the range of her own protective stave. Not to mention that Mimir's reputation proceeded him enough that he was already banned from even interacting with the Trickster Division. Coyote actually choked on his coffee when Calliope simply mentioned his name.

And his dad—oh god his dad. He wasn't going to like the paperwork he would have to fill out later as his TD and government approved 'guardian'. Or the fact that his sister was currently constructing an entirely new fake identity for him on the fly.

His Friday class was spent memorizing his story that his family helped him make up. At least the one for school. The one they presented to the TD was already hammered into his head. He could recite in his sleep, under his breath while hunting, or even as he slipped through the ripples of the illusions outside the stave as he looked for his still-missing friend late at night with the hope they returned.

It was strange to Atreus to know that his mother wasn't a Jötnar on the run to Coyote. She wasn't Laufey the Just, hiding from the Aesir still hunting her down. She was simply Faye, a human woman stuck living in hiding from the hunters after her immortal husband.

But there was no hiding the truth of Calliope and his dad. His sister had worked too closely and too often with Preternatural Regulations for her to even think of changing her story for the TD. Her position among the Amazons also served to complicate things for them. And Kratos, the god to succeed Ares after his death, was infamous. A tale Atreus didn't know much about himself, other than there were hunters still after them for whatever happened in Ancient Greece with his predecessor.

And even with all their years of experience at hiding their true identities outside of trusted circles, it slipped even Calliope's hyperactive mind to disguise herself.

“Ages of training, running and hiding . . . and I forgot a fucking simple glamour. The Queen would be disappointed,” Calliope said, dropping her head onto the paperwork in front of her.

“Hippolyta did not the possess the infallible mind you are striving towards.” Kratos patted her head, brushing her hair back as she looked up at him. As he continued past, he ruffled up Atreus' hair, causing him to giggle as he tried to lift his dad's heavy limb.

“Considering you live the majority of your life in plain sight among the Amazons while your father is left hidden away in a forest that kills most of those who wander in for his own protection—I'd say you're doing a lot better.” Faye smiled as she signed the papers they had to hand over to the TD.

It was weird to claim her as his only parent with his father just sitting on her other side. And to deny his Jötnar heritage and genetics in favor of their cover that she was human.

Other than that, something built up inside Atreus that had him going over what Wolfram had assigned him to help his cover for school the entire weekend. He ignored hearing his sister and dad arguing as she drilled him on his new cover and familiarized the war god with his new glamour the best she could. Which meant he spent most of his time sequestered away in his mom's study, except for meals and when he became too antsy.

“Atreusss--”

“Sorry Jörmungandr,” Atreus stopped his bouncing, kneeling to let the snake slither his way onto the chair he just vacated. “I just—I got a weird feeling and I don't know what to make of it.” He sat on the floor and leaned back, smiling as the snake popped into view. The smoothness of his scales were peppered with jagged and rough bits that tickled his forehead. Somehow the serpent had the power to ease the pressure in Atreus' head whenever they sat like this.

So he spent the last hours of Sunday with a cursed Jötnar snake asleep in his hair.

* * *

Come Monday morning, he was sitting in the front seat of Calliope's car hugging his backpack on the slow drive to school.

“Calliope?” Atreus turned from searching the trees to look at her. “What was your first day of school like?”

“I don't even remember the school, it happened so long ago,” She said, eyes trained ahead. “I do remember what it felt like. They were all mortal, nothing like what I have faced even among the Amazons.”

“Your sisters are the least impressive beings you've ever faced?” That had him laughing.

“The least impressive since meeting Faye, if we're being honest. And there is no war among the gods in this era like there was when I was younger. And I'll never stop being amazed by the Queen. But walking into that school felt like I was walking into my first serious battle.”

“But you remember that over your first day of school.”

“Yes, but I also never expected to be so anxious about walking among mortals as if I were one of them. I made quite the strong impression due to my nervousness.” She reached out to squeeze his hand, offering him a smile. “You have people on your side here. People you won't have to hide your supernatural abilities from. Wolfram will help you where we can't.”

“You don't like that fact, do you?”

“I have spent so long doing whatever I could to help Faye and father, and you for these past thirteen years. I am bitter about not being much help here.” Calliope frowned but squeezed his hand again. “But I understand. I'm mostly human despite my immortality and the gifts granted to me.” The sour taste in his mouth kept him from commenting on that last statement. There were more things his sister was bitter about than being unable to help him with magic.

“So how is it you're not a trickster and just a demi-god? The majority of tricksters today are born to humans.”

“I assume because my mother was a mortal woman, and father was half-mortal. If the theory about tricksters is correct, then there is not enough of a clash within me to make me one. Your friend would have called me out by now if I were and I spent my entire life not realizing it.”

“But Seung and the intruder knew.”

“Some beings just know the truth of others. And if foxes can sense the magnetic field of the earth, I'm sure there are other things Sungilah can sense.”

Even with his sister driving at the speed limit—which she vowed to have Mimir find him a driver's manual—they arrived outside the school faster than Atreus wanted.

Ms. Stella wasn't anything like he expected from how Wolfram talked of her. She had her hands full the last week keeping the preternatural students away from the school while he was there. Enough trouble it kept them from meeting at all.

Peachy orange curls pulled back into a messy bun and moss green eyes behind red-framed glasses. Her smile and body-language was as nervous as he felt, a mask for the beaming confidence and pride inside. Another persona in place among humans. Meant to be a comfort, and probably played up just for him.

“Calliope Athanas,” She said, reaching out to shake the woman's hand. “You must be Ms. Stella.”

“I'm sure you've heard all about me from Wolfram, haven't you?”

“And more.” Calliope's words were sharp, light, and unexpected. Atreus knew his sister could pull off a less acerbic accent, but her tone was heavy with the implication. If she couldn't hide who she was, she was going to use that to her full advantage. Especially since no one other than Coyote knew why she was even involved with the case of a recently discovered thirteen year-old trickster.

“You must be Atreus.” The woman said, doing her best to recover from the awkward exchange. He felt the faint urge to lie about who he was, but the weird feeling in his chest rolled over it.

“Hi,” He said, accepting her handshake as well. It sent a sharp pain through his head as her thoughts and emotions became almost crystal clear. They still hadn't found a way to completely shield him from them.

“You'll be spending your first hour with me so we can get most of your accommodations handled and answer any last minute questions you may have.”

* * *

Atreus frowned as he examined his student ID. The cuts to his face were prominent in the photo, even if nobody mentioned them in person.

“The camera we use can see through your glamour,” Stella explained, showing him her own ID, “So that's the image it captures. Humans won't be able to see it themselves, but those like us can. . . Though I have to admit, it's concerning that you even have injuries like that.”

“How is that?” Atreus reached up to feel his face, scarred tissue bumpy against his fingers.

“Well, despite the average condition of neglect most of our trickster kids come in with, nowadays it's rare to see one with such heavy scarring or multiple markings.” She shifted, clicking her pen in actual nervousness before smiling at him. “Though I guess I've gotten used to a cushier lifestyle of modern times rather than spending my entire life surviving in the Dark Woods.”

“I mean—I guess? I can also tell you it's really easy to trip over a tree root and cut your eye on a boulder. Even trees liked to play tricks sometimes.” As he learned first hand.

That had his advisor giving him a genuine, warm smile. Sparkles seemed to bubble up under her skin and flood her eyes before it faded, leaving a hollow but palpable feeling of—memories he couldn't touch on before Ms. Stella pushed them back.

“That is true.”

Atreus spent the rest of the hour distracted by this woman who was dedicated to making kids feel accepted and comfortable, chasing the fleeting feeling that maybe she knew their struggle all too well.

* * *

 "How long do we have to wait?”

“We wait. You're too old to be complaining.”

“We have spent ages waiting on him. You have to be sick of this bullshit by now, too. All this time chasing long dead leads for a lost cause?”

“Were I him, I would do the same. Death would be preferable—and damn the world I suffered under that curse. I've heard tell that most tricksters would sell out the bastard should they find him. Or kill him themselves.”

“Of course. No one wants an apocalypse in this day and age. But the prophecies we discovered were wrong. Loki never came about and I doubt he will ever. Might have even been born in Jötunheim for all we know.” A cup came flying at his head, making him grunt in anger. “Listen, either way—Laufey has to be long dead by now. Those Greek hunters seemed eager to end anyone associating with their stray god. And what's a giant against gods?”

“Ragnarök.” Was the dry response he earned. But not from the man across from him.

“Uncle--”

“Baldur--”

“We continue the chase, but we're switching targets. The old man isn't any use to us while he remains wherever he's hiding.”

“So who do you have your eye on now?”

“Her Little Majesty is still making a mess of the Olympians,” He said, tossing a flash drive to his eldest nephew, face stiff and empty. “Heard down the grapevine that she's doing a little charity work for the Trickster Division.”

“'Course you'd want her now. She'd have to have learned something from Laufey for however long they stuck together. Even if the guardian's dead,” Magni said, catching onto his uncle.

“Use that to check the registries for every trickster discovered since the last time."

“And what are you off to do?” Modi's question had Baldur pausing to think, even if the smile spreading across his face told them everything they needed to know.

“Gonna reunite with the little princess. Been awhile, wouldn't you say? Can't wait to see exactly how far she's come from the brat who couldn't even lift her sword.” They weren't sure if he meant for them to hear that last part. But with that certain spark in his eyes and lilt to his words, they didn't want him to turn on them.

“. . . What the hell do we do?!” Modi looked between his brother and the distant form of his uncle. Magni knew best how to handle the god, but Baldur had become more volatile as the years wore on with no respite from his curse.

“You want to try to stop him?” Magni scoffed at his brother. Baldur lost the ability to hold back with their family the longer he suffered. They were too used to him not being able to gauge his own strength, and he had grown too bitter with them to even try anymore. “Be my guest.” Magni continued, flipping the flash drive in his hands. “I'll be checking the registries. You can stay here or follow.”

“What's the point? It's a one person job, and I doubt you'll find much more since last month. How common is a trickster anyways? Not very.”

“The better question is: How does one not realize they've given birth to _Loki_ of all creatures?”

“Right. I doubt anyone would keep that under wraps for long.”

* * *

 Atreus had made it through his day mostly on edge due to the humans around him. The kids were nice, but that didn’t stop his instincts from screaming at him that they were threats. He could hear the whispers about him, even as he kept far away from them as he could.

The students that passed him with their IDs flashing their true appearances under their glamour had him keeping his eyes downcast.

“You’re okay, Atreus,” Ms. Stella said as he curled into himself in her office after school. “No one's here to hurt you.”

“Doesn’t mean they won’t show up.” He muttered, rubbing at his eyes. Teenagers were exhausting—human or not. He felt drained even as his muscles tensed painfully.

Calliope was right. He couldn’t remember much of anything except for the feeling that a hunter might spring from the crowds of students.

“You’re still anxious about leaving the Dark Woods, aren’t you?” It was less a question and more a statement as she watched him. Atreus wasn’t too sure why she felt so familiar, her voice and words grounding him.

“Hunters.” He didn’t want to see her reaction, and it was a lot more than he should probably be saying to someone he's known for all of two hours. It was hard enough feeling the emotions well up inside her.

“Hunters don’t make it very far in Seung's domain. But this last one was a trickster, too. Knew I lived there.”

“So,” She knew the story, he could hear it in her voice, “You think they can reach you here if that hunter made it so far into the woods.”

“I was fine staying there until I was ready. It's—too much for me out here. I can hear things. And I don’t know how to block any of it out just yet.” That was too obvious for him now.

“She was keeping you safe until you could.” Ms. Stella bit her lip in thought. “What she did to the hunter camp was for you—because they knew about you.”

“Do you know exactly how everyone else found out about me?” She knew. Ms. Stella knew more than she let on. And he almost had her, until she made a face at him and realization came flooding into her thoughts.

“You little trickster,” Her easy smile affected him, letting him unwind just a bit. “You did so well all day not pushing thoughts onto your teachers I forgot you could read people just as easily. I hope we don’t—well, based on your test scores, we're not going to have to worry about you cheating for your grades.” Atreus shrugged, unsure of what he was supposed to say.

“So what now? If you’re keeping your secrets under lock and key, and that’s my main concern about coming to school.”

“First, may I ask why you’re not concerned about the fox trailing after you? She has spent thirteen years keeping you hidden from the greater world.”

“I don’t believe either of us has a choice here,” Atreus said, feeling the absence of his only friend. “Anyone who can break the rules set down by a trickster has free reign of their domain. Seung won against the hunter, but—they lost to the spider. They're off wherever they were sent after what happened. Iktomi's been crawling around, and going stir-crazy at being restricted to the forest it seems. Chases me down any chance he gets.”

“He does?”

“The forest is big, but not as big as his usually territory.”

That had her frowning as thoughts flew through her mind. It amazed him how fast it was, but in a language he didn’t know except for the few relating to the TD and Preternatural Regulations. It started to build upon the headache Atreus had been holding off all day until she noticed.

“Oh—I am so sorry, Atreus.” She fretted, handing him a water bottle. “I've never had a student who was so sensitive before.”

“I get it, though. Centuries affect everyone differently.” Ms. Stella was a lot like his mom in that aspect, just without the ability to shield herself from him. There was a fascination with the world that never died, the taste of freedom and wishes so strong on his tongue he was half tempted to describe it out loud. And those memories floating just underneath her inner thoughts.

Atreus wondered if the curiosity he felt was anything like what drove Sungilah to drag him along to every campsite that popped up in the forest.

“Alright, here's a deal. I'll take you to meet your homeroom class and leave you there for club activities while I try and settle whatever the TD is doing keeping Sungilah away from the Dark Woods so long.”

“Am I supposed be making deals at school?” He teased, earning another smile. Ms. Stella melted, bubbly energy getting to him.

“Normally, no.”

“If you can get Seung back so I’m not running through cobwebs anymore, I'll take it.”

* * *

Atreus didn’t quite realize what he agreed to as she walked him back to the classroom.

“There are people still here?” There were more than he expected, but he was used to a near empty school in the evenings.

“This school is hailed as one of the leading institutions for preternatural students in the country. One of the few to partner with a public school. So there are several other classes and clubs beside your own.” She explained. “Yours is strictly for our trickster kids, and those who are currently unknown. Raising demi-gods is a lot like raising a trickster, so it's easier for everyone if Wolfram looks after them until they're proven one way or another."

“But I’m gonna be here until—I graduate?”

“Yes. You'll walk away with a high school diploma and everything. You can even go to college if you want to. We'll go over it your junior and senior years.”

“Okay.”

The conversation didn’t distract him from the door though. It was so familiar over the week he spent coming here in the evenings, but now it felt as strange as the feeling that was burning in his chest all day.

“It's okay if you're nervous, Atreus.” Ms. Stella told him, barely avoiding touching his shoulder at the last second. He gave her a tense grin as he reached for the handle. Why could he feel them now when he hadn't his first day here?

“I just—I agreed and all, but I got a weird feeling,” Atreus didn’t have the chance to continue as the door was ripped from his hand and something came flying at him. His instincts kicked in immediately, all emotions breaking free of his shaky hold after an exhausting day. He had no weapons, so his fist went flying—

Landing right in the center of the kid's face and sending him toppling back into the classroom.

“Holy—fuck!” He spat, fingers touching his bent and bleeding nose.

Atreus went stumbling back, flinching as he bumped into Ms. Stella before pivoting around her and running down the hallway.

* * *

His mind came back to him at the edge of the city, the forest just in view. Atreus held a hand to his chest trying to ease his breathing as he looked back. The distance was hard even for him, his books and supplies just as heavy as his gear and equipment.

“Atreus!”

He jumped and noticed Wolfram waving him down at the base of the hill he was on. The man wasn’t holding up much better, and wore obvious concern on his face as he approached.

“Mr. Wolfram.” Atreus stayed still, unsure if he should run back to the trees like he wanted to.

“You run fast,” Wolfram said, taking a deep breath as he stopped before him. “The question is, why? Why did you run?”

“I—just did.” Atreus didn’t know how else to answer. “I wasn’t thinking.”

“. . .” The silence from the man he had come to know was upsetting. There were vocal concerns from him and the TD that Atreus didn’t have enough time to acclimate to being outside the forest.

And he had to agree, the feeling of broken bones against his fist coming back to him as his mind caught up with his body.

“I’m sorry Atreus. I should have known Theo wouldn’t sit still once he noticed you were outside.” He made a face, as he straightened up. “He's fine, by the way. Stella has had more than enough training to fix a broken nose.”

“I didn’t mean to hurt him—”

“I know, I know.” He patted Atreus' head, thoughts and emotions barricaded behind his own protective marks. “I gave them all warning against agitating you. You were raised with Sungilah in the Dark Woods, and Theo should have remembered that.”

“I’m not ready for school—like you said.”

“It's not really about you being a danger to the other kids like you’re thinking.” Wolfram crouched before him to catch his eyes. “We're worried about what all of this is doing to you. There’s a reason Sungilah has been left wild and alone for so long.”

“They don’t do well with others.”

“Like you, Sungilah is capable of empathy and hearing the thoughts of others. It's overwhelming. And if it weren’t for what was done to help them, they would be a lot worse off.” There was something in his eyes, too clear and honest at the moment as he looked to the trees. Wolfram sighed as he focused back on him. “I noticed it when we met. And I don't know your background, but it's dangerous for any trickster to be so overwhelmed. And we can’t say you’re in trouble for reacting like you did when we were the ones trusted to care for you. By Lady Calliope and Sungilah themselves.”

He was about to speak when something slammed into his back, sending him falling forward into his teacher.

“Mr.--” Atreus was yanked back before he could finish, the air pulled from his lungs with the force. He grunted as we was stopped and swung back, feeling the slight tearing of his clothes as he looked up to see he was dangling by the bone webbing attached to his hood.

“Atreus!” His teacher tried to reach him but was stopped as Atreus was jostled.

“ ** _Leave_**!”

Atreus would recognize the spider's voice anywhere, or at least the one he used while staying in the forest. He glanced up and away as soon as he saw the rapid flickering above him. He had no weapons, no armor, and was about thirty feet above the ground with pine needles poking at him. Wolfram was focused on the spider, a light in his eyes that told Atreus that the man didn't know how to handle a situation like this.

“Sungilah,” Atreus wondered if Wolfram would be a good distraction while he worked himself out of his sweater, “It'd be nice if you could help me with another escape route.”

Not giving it a second thought, he wiggled himself free. After that it was a high speed moment as he slipped, falling down and feeling his legs hit against a branch hard enough to make go down face first. He saw Wolfram in his peripheral. Atreus felt the strength of the webs that shot his falling backpack against a nearby tree, air brushing past him. And he couldn't get a grip on any of the branches passing as pine needles came loose in his hands.

But he noticed a fiery colored speck moving fast below him. The sun caught the glint of the silver webs they were constructing as fast as he was falling. Atreus barely had time to put his hands up to cover his face before he went crashing through it.

He landed on his shoulder, sliding along the ground and feeling his shirt rip. Dirt and little pebbles rubbed painfully against the open cuts on his hands and arms; the blood slipping in through his lips told him he hadn't managed to protect his face very well. And there was a stick digging into his stomach.

Pushing himself up, Atreus breathed a sigh of relief as he saw his house. There was a tremble in his limbs that made it hard for him to stand, and was so lightheaded he had to sit right back down.

It took a moment before he was scrambling for his phone, hoping his teacher hadn't fallen victim to the elder trickster. He recognized the signs of a fight at hand, and even more so when the spider wasn't playing around.

“Come on, pick up.” He muttered, paying no mind to the blood on his hands or that it was smeared across his screen. Atreus had gotten too used to seeing it lately. He half wondered if he would ever walk away from an encounter with the elder without injuries.

“ _Atreus_?" He sucked in a breath at the voice. Wolfram sounded unharmed, if absolutely worried. He was glad he had the staff in his contacts, even when it wasn’t much use outside of the district.

“Did you get away?”

“ _What about you?! Are you okay_?”

“I'm back home. I'm fine.” His hand shook as he ran it over his jeans, trying to get rid of the blood. “Seung's part of the forest no matter how far away they are.” Atreus didn't know how he knew that, but it felt true as he looked around. He couldn't see very far into the trees, sure the forest had woken up in response to the elder trickster.

“ _Helped you get away._ ”

“It's just—how things are right now. It's all she can do for me. But are you okay?”

“ _Iktomi left the moment you vanished. I'm sure he's on his way to you._ ”

“He won't be able to get here. The forest won't let him.” Another truth that came easily to him. He saw the shift in the house and saw his mother's face in her study window. “I'm just—going to stay awhile.”

“ _You stay home. Stella and I are gonna work on your case the best we can, okay_?”

“Okay. But are you? Okay, that is."

“ _I'm fine, Atreus. I'm used to territory showdowns._ ”

“Because you're the elder of the school district, aren't you?”

“ _Nice of you to catch on. I've gotta go. Stay safe, and I'll see you at school again_.”

“I'll be back tomorrow.” He promised, watching the call end on his bloody screen as his mother came running towards him.

“Atreus!”

He spat as she checked his hands again, his dad not too far behind.

“What happened?” He demanded, murder alight in his eyes and in his stance.

“Well, nearly had my head explode from thoughts and emotions. Punched a kid in the face and broke his nose. That made me snap so I ran all the way back to the forest before I came to my senses. Mr. Wolfram chased me down to see what the problem was. Had a nice chat that probably would have solved the problem.” He had to spit again, getting a little sick of the taste of his own blood.

“Then Iktomi showed up. Almost saw the start of a territory war because Wolfram's the elder trickster of the school district. Was left dangling in the air again before I slipped free and went crashing through a spider's web that apparently transports me to the same spot, but it's so fine that it cuts like knives.”

“You keep falling through those, these cuts will permanently damage your hands. Do you understand how much harder it would be to use your bow with stiff and broken fingers?” His mom held his hands clasped between hers, holding his gaze. There was fear in her, loose chestnut curls highlighting her cool blue eyes. A memory swimming behind them that showed him a beaten image of his sister as a child leaning heavily on a xiphos, with blood pouring from the cut on her face.

It was one he saw hanging in Calliope's room whenever they had a video chat. Ancient, as heavy as it looked, but cared for greatly.

“I'll stop running from him as soon as Seung's back. Mr. Wolfram and Ms. Stella said they'll work on it.” Atreus leaned into her as she hugged him, and looked at his dad when the man placed a hand on his back.

Their thoughts didn't bombard him like the ones at school had. They were like clouds on a gentle breeze, while the teenager's were hail the size of baseballs. He wondered if he was just too used to them, or if his parents had the practice to temper their thoughts over their long lives.

All of that left him as he was pulled to his feet and nearly fell. He laughed nervously as his parents gave him a shared stern stare.

“You're are going right to bed after we fix you up and feed you.”

“Got it.”

His relief at the familiarity of his home had him calming down immediately. Jörmungandr draped himself around his shoulders, working on his headache. And Atreus wasn’t sure what put him to sleep faster: watching his dad ready himself for his trip to retrieve Atreus’ backpack, or his mom working on his hands and humming while she did so.

Atreus leaned back once he noticed he was in his dreams again. He was sat in the backseat of his sister's car, her files spilling out slightly to show him her plane ticket for later that morning.

Maybe going through his memories would better prepare him for tomorrow.

“I guess, show me what I missed.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long story short, I had two bad flare ups in a row which triggered Costochondritis. So it was a bad time. I'm better now, even with CC and RLS sticking around.  
> So here we have an entire 18 pages. Nothing happened that I originally planned, so we'll see how this goes now.


	4. We All Know He Has a Death Wish

Perfect posture. Not a hair out of place. Composure sporting a crack as a slight sneer pulled at the scar on her face. Entirely too focused on her phone as she typed. Almost the same since last he saw her were it not for the advances in technology.  


“Hello Princess.” Baldur tilted his head as he settled beside her. Calliope clenched her jaw, eyes storming and dark as she looked over at him.  


“Baldur.” She covered her phone, the screen going dark as she poured her attention into him.  


“You actually seem surprised to see me. Is her little majesty slipping up?” His fingers tapped along the back on her seat. The people nearby sent glances their way, but hearing a foreign language wasn't all that strange in this airport. Old Norse was pushing it, he knew, but their conversations were always too sensitive to the mundane.  


“I'm not here for your rhetoric, and I don't plan on fighting you today.” There was a heavy air about her, the end of her ponytail brushing his fingers with static from metal chairs. Baldur didn't remember what it felt like, and only had the image of the woman beside him visually demonstrating it once before.  


“You should—I mean, it's been decades since I've seen you handle a sword. I had fun then . . . Didn't you?” Baldur didn't like the haggardness held in her arms. The Princess had always been ready to fight him. There was none of that now. “With the dwarves on your side, I don't doubt that you have one on hand. A special one made just for you—versus the one you hated as a child.” But the decades since then were long. What the gods must have done to age the goddess into the tired being before him.  


“I didn't hate my sword. I had to grow up to use it properly, if you remember. Though with your age, I doubt you would.” Her words didn't hold the same fight, but the scar on her face told more stories than the one where she had earned it. Stories of years he hadn't seen.  


“You know,” He began, words spilling out, “I really missed getting under your skin. Seeing you struggle with the fire inside you. Keeping your composure to avoid upsetting daddy and gramps. A real spitfire if I ever saw one. A true Amazon.” Her hard gaze disappeared, crumpling more than melting.  


“Stop baiting me. Fighting you once more would mean my death.” Words more than she should have ever said. “And I don't intend to go out in a battle not meant for my freedom. Not when there is more for me to do in my life.”  


“The Olympians are more controlling than I ever guessed.”  


“My grandfather is as controlling as your father—but I'm not a dog that comes to heel.” Those eyes sharpened, focused and alight as she leaned in. “I'm not like you.”  


That had him narrowing his eyes, leaning in as well, ignoring everyone that passed by. One of her hands was relaxed on her lap, prepared to catch or hit, while the other came to rest lightly over his on the back of her seat. His thoughts were running at full speed, completely ready for her to make her move.  


“Ladies first.”  


“That's too bad, because I am no lady.” She sat back, flicking her head back so her hair smacked him in the face. Baldur blinked slowly before leaning back in his seat, frowning as she returned to her phone. Her fingers were swift and precise as she finished her message and sent it.  


“You know how hard it is to find you, Princess?” He remarked, searching the crowd for the first signs of her guards arriving. “Almost as slippery as a dwarf.”  


“Thank you for affirming that my training isn't as useless as my grandfather claims.” She replied, dry enough to catch fire in the look she gave him as she stood. It was quickly hidden behind her sunglasses, but he could still see her gaze focused on him through them. “He is looking for any excuse to kill me, so forgive me if I don't play our usual game.”  


“I'm sure my father would take the first chance he had to kill me.”  


“If you are to take his title after Ragnarök, and he had any luck of diverting it, I believe he would.” Her phone pinged, drawing her attention. “Which makes me wonder why you still come to heel.”  


“Not all of us are self-made strays. And you just admitted to rolling over.” He stretched his legs out, tapping her ankle with the tip of his boot. “In which case, I've been keeping track of your work in my boredom. Since I lost the only warrior willing to keep up with me in battle. Got enough volunteer work over the globe to make sure your disappearance would be questioned.”  


“I do a good deed and earn some freedom in return. And there are more ways to occupy yourself than stalking me.”  


“Your work, not you.”  


“Maybe it would do you a little good to join social media. Get some friends.” She started to walk off and he followed, still looking about for the familiar faces of her guards.  


“Why? I have you. I have my family. I have my work." That earned him a scoff.  


“You fight me in the hope I could draw something out of you. Or maybe that I can possibly change your fate in a single battle. Though it seems I only stimulate the mental part of you that craves a fight.”  


“I often wonder how a fight between us would work if I didn't have this curse. That little light show trick you pulled off with my brother. It's always interesting to see you work your powers instead of your strength.” Baldur stopped when she did, her eyes level with his as she faced him again.  


“It's painful, even for me. But should the day come where you are able to, I'd show you.” Sincere words that had his thoughts stopping. If there was anything he liked about Calliope, it was her readiness to fight him. She never once hesitated in the past, when the only threat to her life was him.  


“If only fighting me didn't earn your death after.” And if she died, there was no guarantee that he'd ever know who would actually win between them without his curse.  


“That, too.” Her words were low, small. Much smaller than anything he had heard from the brat since they met. Something had changed—and it wasn't just the ache in her movements as she turned from him.  


“So, you're leaving.”  


“I'd rather my attendants don't see you. I'm protecting them just as much as I am myself.” She tilted her head as he followed her. “Why are you sticking around? Missed sparring with me that much?”  


“Insight.” The correct thing to say as she slowed for him to catch up.  


“Into what?”  


“Your volunteer work with the tricksters.”  


“I'm not going to tell you anything other than even if Loki did come about, I would do my damnedest to keep him from whatever prophesy says he kills you.” Because she had that power. She was her father's daughter. She was the girl who changed everything back then.  


“You almost sound like you care.” He laughed out the words, incredulous at the thought. But there was that look to her face—solid as the icy color of her eyes, but warmed by the spark she carried with her.  


“Because I do. Sure, I can't stand your family, but you—you're cursed and that sways my opinion more than it should. If you're as deranged as you are now when you're not, I'd probably take our battles more seriously.” She placed a hand on his chest to stop him, the clench of her jaw as she stared at her hand telling him more than the force of her touch that he couldn't feel. “The world is different than when we met. I hoped your mind had grown since then.”  


“We're talking.”  


“So you can try and gain information from me.” She pointed out. “When I was younger, you didn't stop to talk to me. So something has changed.” That was the theme, wasn't it? Something changed. That was his current obsession in his desperate attempt to separate himself from his cursed body.  


“I'm amazed the little brat I knew grew up to be you.” He patted her hand before she dropped it.  


“You're getting old. You're getting sentimental.” Calliope ran her fingers through her hair, touching her hair comb lightly to straighten it. Baldur remembered the pin needle inside that left him unable to move for a day after their last fight. And maybe she was right, he was sentimental.  


“Don't think you know me.”  


“Don't I? What other enemy have you stopped to talk to lately?” She smiled and waved as she walked off. He took note of those in the crowd who appeared and followed her at a distance.  


Baldur slunk back, retaking the seats they occupied earlier before her leave.  


The word _Enemy_ echoed through his mind. He wasn't out to kill her—not after the last time she had vanished with her family. The absolute boredom and mania he had in that time.  


They were enemies with his loyalty to his family, and her loyalty to her father and the Jötnar Guardian.  


Baldur was still thinking about his encounter with the Amazon when he returned home. His case files were scattered in front of him, and the notes about things that should have happened, but didn't because of Calliope sitting on top of it all.  


“Uncle.”  


“Hm.” Baldur didn't know how long Magni was standing there, face drawn and his teeth were clenched along with his hands. But he still held out a file to him.  


“What I could find on the newest tricksters.”  


“Your Amazon's attached to one of them.” Modi’s words earned him a stiff elbow to his side, leaving him arguing in a tight huddle with his brother.  


Baldur couldn't care less as he flipped through and scanned the documents to find her name.  


“A kid she personally sees to.”  


“Did anything come from your fight with her?”  


“Fight? What fight? That bastard on Olympus would kill her if she came near me.” There was still a running thought in his head that told him he should have fought Calliope, damn what she said. It was like an itch, or how a drug acted. Baldur wasn't too sure about the comparisons.  


“Maybe it's the kid.”  


“Shut up, Modi. What would you know?”  


“The last time she fights with uncle is sometime before this brat is said to be born. Then the only time uncle can track her down is after the kid is registered as a trickster.”  


“We're not looking into the Amazon's business. She's Olympian, not Aesir or Jötnar.” Baldur said, glaring up at them for a moment before he went back to the papers. “We're looking for Loki. She changed what happened, so she'll probably be around wherever Loki happens to show up. I'd only care about this brat if she didn't give birth to him.” But the kid in the picture had the same icy blue eyes, some of the same features. He even stood the same as the woman: Confident and ready. His eyes would probably hold the same glinting light in them Calliope had in person.  


“Kid was trained like an Amazon, which doesn't happen unless you're related to one. Is noted to have the capacity for magic, but doesn't use it. Mortal and Olympian, even if he's a trickster. Placed far from them and Themiscyra in some haunted woods for his own protection.” Baldur pulled the kid's papers, staring his nephews in the eyes as he ripped them apart. “Nothing points to this kid even being remotely Jötnar. So if he is her kid, doesn't matter to us.”  


“If you say so.”  


“I do say so. Now have you got anything else I should spend my time on?” Baldur looked to Magni as Modi tossed himself in his usual seat. Magni pulled a sheet from the file to show him.  


“There's one—a demi-god that can go either way discovered in Canada.”

* * *

 

Baldur wanted to run himself through a cliff-side to stop the mess of thoughts in his mind. Investigative work wasn't as stimulating as a good fight. And even then, the short reprieve of whatever poison Calliope created was enough to quiet his thoughts.  


He hummed to himself as he adjusted his headphones. Modi had done some work to get him a recording of one of Calliope's recent calls. Just to check out if his guess about her relationship with the kid was correct.  


“ _You're safe, right?_ ” The kid's accent was heavy, an eclectic mix Baldur couldn't place, but it was the same mixture of English and the several dialects of Greek Calliope spoke in. It was always interesting to hear.  


“ _Atreus, I'm fine. What about you?_ ”  


“ _Well, I guess this is what I get for asking for help from a spider's kid. I don't get why a web would be that sharp though._ ” Magni had pulled his records from the school he was attending. The kid was covered in scars, and several fresh ones on his face and hands.  


“ _I'm assuming it's made of similar material to the bone webbing from the spider. The intent behind it has something to do with how thin it is. That, mixed with the strength of it, and the speed of you crashing through them is what causes them to cut through your skin._ ” _Like wire_ , Magni's note read. His nephew made a lot of notes on the spider they were talking about.  


“ _You think so?_ ”  


“ _Maybe. We wouldn't be sure unless Seung is willing to recreate it for a couple of tests._ ”  


“ _I'm not sure how willing they would be. Any idea on how soon I'll get my friend back instead of dealing with their bored father?_ ” Baldur had looked into the case out of boredom, which almost had him hunting down the nearest trickster for a fight just for the hell of it.  


“ _I'm not too sure myself. Atreus—nobody likes hunters, but there were innocent humans among them. And nearly all of them in the camp were killed. It'll take time for this whole thing to be sorted out._ ”  


“ _I get it._ ”  


“ _Look, I'll work with the tricksters and your advisor to try and get them to change their minds about where Sungilah is held. It'll take some doing to show that they're not doing well in their father's domain.”_  


“ _Wherever that even is. Does it help that I'm getting hurt and I'm paranoid with Iki around?_ ”  


“ _That's the angle we're using now. I'm sure they don't want to deal with a trick starved spider as well. Other than that, how was your first day?_ ” And here Magni began to makes notes on what they should probably add to Calliope's file.  


“ _Well, I struggled all day with everyone's thoughts and emotions just kinda overwhelming me. Exploded. Which means I broke a kid's nose and ran._ ” That had him chuckling.  


“ _How did your teacher handle that?_ ”  


“ _Well, I'm kinda in detention until they can—explain me to the class I guess. I spend my first hour in Ms. Stella's office working with her on trying to handle my—psychic powers, I guess._ ”  


“ _Your intuition._ ”  


“ _Yeah, that. I haven't been back to class yet. Mr. Wolfram says maybe next week when they pass the test he's been giving them. And there's been a sorta school-wide notice since it happened. I'm not the first, but I think I'm one of the few they've marked as dangerous._ ”  


“ _And you are. You can't deny that._ ” Like Calliope.  


“ _I don't—I've been watching those movies and stuff they sent me home with. And I want friends like that._ ”  


“ _But you broke a kid's nose before they got to meet you._ ”  


“ _I broke a kid's nose and the school's calling me dangerous. Doesn't help that I've been marked a trickster already._ ”  


“ _Atreus, sweetie—I can't say I've been through it like you have. But I do know how hard it can be to make friends when they already have an image of you._ ” Probably referring to her first go at school. Or her first time among the entire collective of gods. “ _It'll be hard to change that, but you can show them that's not all there is to you. You're such a sweetheart and so kind and brave. I have only ever known you as confident. Don't be who they want you to be, but be the Atreus I know and love. Those who you want as friends will find their way to you._ ”  


“ _Just—not the whole truth right? Like the whole parent thing?_ ”  


“ _Of course. You're already so prepared._ ”  


“ _It doesn't feel like I've had enough time. Not according to you or Seung._ ”  


“ _I can tell you right now it usually feels like that. Not all of us can have the absolute confidence of the god of war, right?_ ” Not when she was born before Kratos was the god of war, or that Atreus wouldn't know how Kratos was when acting as the god of war.  


“ _Yeah._ ”  


“ _Listen, Atreus, I have to go. I'll update you when I'm able to._ ”  


“ _You be safe._ ”  


“ _You, too. Love you._ ”  


“ _Love you._ ”

* * *

 

“Uncle, you've gone over those files—”  


“And I will go over them again. There's something here that we're missing. How is it that a child survives everything a god-king and his heir throws at her?” Baldur huffed, half tempted to tear his hair out just for something to do. “According to the statements we gathered, Calliope should have died long before she went to Themiscyra. Her father killed his predecessor, and that alone changed a lot already. But this girl—"  


“She faced father as a child and lived.” Modi said, arms crossed as he leaned back.  


“She took his damn eye.” Baldur reminded them. That image remained with him. He saw it whenever he saw her. And he wanted to know if she could do the same to him without the curse. Baldur could imagine the adrenaline he would feel in a serious fight like that.  


“Calliope of the Storm. Heiress of Olympus. Or she would be—"  


“If she wasn't hell-bent on remaining in Themiscyra with the Amazons.” Baldur hummed as he focused on the papers before him. “Kratos topples the first god of war and takes his place after the murder attempt on her life. Then Olympus gets caught up in a war among themselves for some fuckin' reason. They escape and end up here. The two of them fuck shit up here—whatever the fucking plan happened to be.”  


“You mean, they didn't tell you? I thought you knew what that was all about.”  


“I've been told I'm the prized hound among my father's dogs. I can't die, I can't feel pain, and I'm the best tracker he has. But we all know my father and yours would kill me if they ever had the chance. Neither want me taking their throne." He knew his precarious position in his family. Magni would be king long before Baldur if their fathers had a say in fate.  


“Your slight nihilism aside, it doesn't help your case that you're friends with the enemy.” Magni pointed out, agitation clear on his face.  


“Leave my cat out of this.” Baldur snapped his fingers, calling the creature over to him. The cat stretched, blinking up at him with innocent amber eyes. It brushed against his stretched out leg before flopping over his foot.  


“No. Give father shit all you want, but she falls asleep on me when you're not looking.”  


“Ambrosia likes you, though. You can't be mad at that.”  


“Of course not. I don't like that I can't lift her, though. Or that she is a gift from the goddess who took my father's eye. Expressly for the purpose of upsetting father.” It had surprised everyone when Calliope had handed Baldur a small fur ball years ago after a meeting of the Collective. Ambrosia was named for her immortality, and as a reminder that the creature came from the Greek. It was a slight against Thor, as the forest cat had the ability to render his strength unusable.  


Petty, and a small source of enjoyment for Baldur as he watched his brother struggle with the cat. A pity that Thor's weakness fell to his son as well.  


“Maybe if the cat spit out your girlfriend's secrets, Magni wouldn't be so upset.” Modi grinned, blocking the pen thrown at him.  


“Just because you can lift the damn thing—"  


“Modi, shut up.” Baldur stopped them before they could really start. “The princess isn't even close to being my girlfriend. And secondly, do you have anything for me or are you just being a pain again?”  


“Canada was a bust. Kid's just a demi-god.” Modi shrugged. There wasn't anything else he could say that wasn't in his report.  


“Magni?”  


“That's the only interesting case—other than Calliope's kid. If you feel like digging a little more, there's a little note here that he was targeted by hunters.”  


“Probably just the hunters the Greeks have hounding her for Kratos.” Baldur often ran into them as he kept close watch on Calliope. Zeus was annoying in his widespread search for his son—the only one strong enough to claim his throne.  


“Even the tricksters aren't too sure on that. The one who controls the land the kid lives in went on a killing spree. Modern hunters who mixed with civilians. No relations to the Greeks as far as I've been able to tell.” That caught his interest.  


“Any survivors?”  


“Mainly civilians, with a few trainees.”  


“Get me their information. Might as well check it out.”  


“Sure it's not just to—” Baldur paused, thoughts halting as he faced his nephew.  


“Modi, Calliope has the nasty habit of aiming for the face. Maybe she'll take your eye next.” He tilted his head, waiting until Modi looked away before leaving; Ambrosia trotting along beside him.  


“Someone's going to kill you one day and I'm not going to save you, dumbass.”

* * *

 

“Definitely looks like a trickster hit you.” Baldur said, watching as the kid jumped. There was a small ripple of reality around them, their appearance trying to shift before they abandoned it.  


“Y-you're . . .” They blinked at him, in what he guess was their original form. They were younger than what they had told the paramedics, and their body seeming much too small in the hospital bed didn't help.  


“I know who I am. Question is, what is a fledgling trickster doing being a hunter trainee?” That earned him a glare.  


“I did—didn't have a choice in—family.” They spat, still struggling to breathe right. There was a distinctive old scar running down their neck and chest that told him a different story than the fresh ones. If anything, Baldur would probably pass along the kid's information to Calliope.  


“I get it. I'm not here to give you shit on that. I'm here to find out how your camp was connected to one of my cases.” The kid grit their teeth at his words, using the rails around their bed to pull themselves up into a better sitting position.  


“Th-there was whispers of it among the masters. They never—told us, but I. . .”  


“But you're a nosy little shit.”  


“Yeah.” The kid drifted, eyelids heavy and hands shaking.  


“And?” Baldur said to draw the kid back. Their eyes were glassy with all the emotions they fought back.  


“E-everyone knows you keep tabs on Calliope be-because she changed the old prophecies. And most hunters do—because Olympus offers a big payout for anyone who brings them the god of war. Dead or alive.”  


“And the Aesir offer one for Laufey. I know the song and dance.” The kid nodded along to his words.  


“Our masters thought maybe they were there in that forest. The Dark Woods.” They paused, eyes squeezed shut as they thought. “They also talked about—it's Calliope. You believe she'll be wherever Loki happens to appear.”  


“And?”  


“It's not known among the hunters—except for my masters. My dad. All the tricksters from fledgling to Elder—Loki showed up.”  


There were very few times since he was cursed that he felt his mind come to a complete halt. Baldur thought of nothing in those moments. He could no longer even see the world before him. Everything even farther from him, even as it seemed that he would soon feel his heart slamming against his ribs. It almost felt like the finality of death.  


But it would never happen before his thoughts returned to shred through each other.  


“What.”  


“We can feel it. A great shift in the world, like it's acknowledging him.” The kid explained, voice lower, heavier. “My dad thought Calliope would know, and he could use whatever she was hiding in the woods—that he could use whatever it was to force her to tell him where Loki was. Whatever secret of hers he found there killed him and our camp.” The image of the woman who took his brother's eye as a child replayed before him even as he focused on the kid.  


“All that was found there was Calliope's trickster child.” Exhaustion and pain fell over the kid as they wilted.  


“And in Sungilah's domain. No wonder.”  


“. . . What makes you say that?” He hadn't looked too much into the trickster, just enough to identify them if he ever met them.  


“Sungilah is the only survivor of maybe three or four generations of tricksters. Before the regulations that were put in place to save us.” The kid swallowed hard, horror briefly overcoming them. “That's several centuries of us—dead. And how many could have been their siblings. I can't imagine having to live so long with those memories.” But it told Baldur enough about why Calliope would leave someone so precious to her so far from her own protection.  


“So you're saying this trickster would have done anything to keep this one trickster child safe.”  


“From everyone. Which is probably why Calliope spends so much time in those woods. It's the safest place for anyone like us. There's no telling what will happen to the kid now that Regulations has sight of them.”  


“And you're sure Loki is alive today?” That's what he had to know.  


“His name has been a whisper in my head for years, but I'm not as much of a trickster as my dad was. Not magic based. You'd probably have to get another one to talk.” And those eyes—honest eyes full of pain and exhaustion that had him shooting a quick message off to the one person that would help the kid.  


“I plan to.”  


“B-Baldur?” His name uttered in a broken whisper stopped him.  


“What?”  


“Do you know if my d-dad went down fighting?”  


Hunters. They had no choice in who they were born to, or who raised them. Baldur had met plenty of who were hated by their own people, but forced into their way of life. The little trickster in the bed was probably the last in a long line of them abused by an outlaw system. Probably by their father, who never had the choice either.  


And a trickster's only other ally than themselves was another trickster.  


“My reports say there was enough foreign blood on him to have killed three humans. Were he one of ours, the Valkyries would have greeted him.” Baldur nodded at them before turning to leave again. He heard their whisper, but didn't process it until he was alone in the elevator down.  


“ _Thanks_.”

* * *

 

The next time Baldur found himself searching for Calliope, it wasn’t hard to find her. She was alone, walking happily through a shopping mall in France. Several purchases hung from her arm as she spoke her mixture of Greek and English on the phone. The few mentions he heard of boys clothes and the fond look on her face told him who she happened to be speaking with before hanging up.  


She was dressed down for once. Instead of her usual business attire, she wore a simple long-sleeved top and leggings; her intricate and/or sleek hairstyles were replaced by messy curls barely held back by what he assumed to be another weapon in the disguise of a golden hairclip. And instead of her usual dark sunglasses, there were clear rose-gold lenses.  


No one had been able to figure out what they did for her, but as she saw him before he made himself known, Baldur wondered if they allowed her to see more than she was able to alone.  


“Care to join me for lunch?” Calliope offered, phone still out as she typed singlehandedly.  


“So you're prepared this time.” Baldur waited until she was stopped near him before tapping her ankle with his boot. He had heard often enough that it was a pain to wear any heeled shoe for any number of hours, yet still she wore them.  


“I have to be.” She said, matching her pace to his. “How is Ambrosia?”  


“Bored. She's gotten annoying the longer it goes on.”  


“So much like you. I must admit, I thought of your brother first when I found her. Care to order for yourself or would you rather die of starvation again?” Her question had Baldur waving her off.  


“Take your pick. You’re the one that needs to eat.” He sat back as she ordered in flawless French. Baldur waited barely a moment after the waitress finished speaking before talking again, not caring when she jumped and Calliope frowned. “Am I always your second thought?”  


“When you are with me or not far from me.” She responded, her voice softer and calmer than his, switching back to French to reassure the waitress. They talked more of the cat, and of the trickster child Calliope was able to place away from the coalition the deceased hunter camp belonged to. As far as she could tell, none of the others knew anything about why the fox spirit went on a murderous rampage.  


“But there’s really not much reason behind modern hunter ideology than taking out monsters meaning to harm or kill humans.”  


“Or gods out to kill gods without breaking the treaties of the Collective.” He earned a few odd looks—sure it had to do with his appearance versus his companion in what must have been a restaurant classy enough to suit the heiress. He stabbed his pasta once before dropping it altogether. “You know, my brother wants you dead.” Calliope wiped at her mouth before reaching for her water.  


“He wants my whole family dead.”  


“Not your whole family, but he will.” Baldur ignored her for the moment it took to pull the small book from his pocket.  


“What are you—” Calliope trailed off as he presented it to her, eyes zeroing in on the picture.  


“I have to say, he looks like you. Not his whole face, but a lot of features. Spending his whole life in a dense dark forest, of course he'd be pale. Same eyes. But would they hold the same fight yours do?” He let her grab the book when she reached for it, and the fear on her face telling him everything he needed to know.  


“How did you find out about him?” Her voice was tight, on the verge of breaking even as she fought to control it.  


“Why wouldn't I keep tabs on the tricksters they find nowadays? Let alone one involved with a lead in my own case.” Baldur watched her fingers trace over the picture of the boy. “Were I my brother, I would have killed you for lying to me.” That had her looking up at him, voice climbing an octave and face scrunching up in confusion.  


“About what?”  


“A simple, stupid reason as you not telling me about your family. This boy—he's the reason your grandfather wants you dead even more, isn't he? Just the fact that you have a secret that you've hidden even from your Amazons. Hide him in a forest protected by one of the most protective tricksters because he is one and he'll be safe from the world. But not now.”  


“Not now that you know of him.” Her hand slipped beneath the table as she looked up at him, surely grabbing one of her hidden weapons. “Did you tell your family about him?”  


“Just myself, Magni, and Modi are in the know. But you never know where Modi goes running his mouth.” His foot tapped her ankle again. “But I'm not here to out you for having a secret kid. I'd do the same if I had one, honestly.”  


“Would you?”  


“I'm here to find out why you lied to me.”  


“Lied to you about what? About Atreus?” Calliope took a moment to settle herself with a deep even breath, food abandoned.  


“No. But you would name him after a Spartan, wouldn't you? He's trained like an Amazon, but I bet you trained him like a Spartan, too. Most people wouldn't know that.” He waved it off as he tapped a finger on the book. “No, I'm here to find out what you know about Loki.”  


“I know nothing.” She repeated, nearly offended that he didn’t believe her.  


“I talked to one of the survivors of the hunter camp your trickster friend slaughtered. Loki is alive and running around. And most of them believe you're the key to finding him.”  


“That was a theory started by you.” Calliope argued, and he saw the fire in her take over the fear she held before.  


“The hunter that was killed in the forest believed they could use the kid—Atreus—to get you to lead them to Loki.”  


Her face was pure anger, only as he knew her and her father to wear, as she called the waitress over and paid for their lunch. Calliope made to move right after the waitress walked off, but stopped to look at him.  


“Good luck to anyone who tries. My Atreus is a Spartan and an Amazon. And he is a trickster.”  


“And he has you.” Baldur knew her reputation better than anyone among the Collective. But he also knew it would never just be Calliope and Atreus.  


“You think I can change anything,” She began, standing and staring down at him, “and if you try to capture him and hand him over to your family, I won't hesitate to kill every Aesir who wrongs me. Starting with you.”  


“Calliope of the Storm. It's been a while.” Baldur grinned, leaning forward as she slipped her glasses on. Seeing the same fire in her eyes, with her curls hanging loose—almost the exact same look as when she tore his brother's eye out. He wanted to see if she would wear that look whenever she finally decided to change his fate and kill him herself.  


“I earned my scars, Baldur. You know that.”  


“I could never forget it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, yeah, maybe it wasn't just a flare up. I've basically rewritten the story from this point on because I lost my notes. I'm just winging it right now.


	5. Well, Something's Learned At School

Atreus huffed as he slipped his homework sheets back into his binder and backpack. With a light bump of his head against the tile behind him, he stared at the bathroom ceiling. It was in the supernatural corner of the school, and where Atreus had been stealing away to during lunch for the past week or so. Since he made his decision, he had been finishing the homework assigned to him starting with his afternoon classes the day before up until his last class before lunch. And that wasn’t even close to being over yet.  


Hugging his backpack close, he rested his head on top. The work they were doing was stuff Mimir had already taught him. Compared to his lessons as a child, his currents teachers were—flat. They had personalities themselves, but how they relayed information was boring. Though he didn’t know if the liveliness of those past lessons had to do with Mimir being able to teach anything while being extremely drunk. Teachers would be fired and banned for showing up to school under the influence of anything in modern times.  


Not to mention every class just reminded him how out of place he felt at all times.  


Atreus was in the middle of debating on whether to read one of his text books when he picked up on thoughts that didn’t belong to any of the teachers in the classrooms nearby. He locked the stall he sat in and stepped up on the seat, careful to steady himself. It wouldn't hide him very well if anyone was looking for him, but with the right move, he'd be over the stalls or sliding under them to escape.  


“ _Psst_ —” There were light footsteps into the bathroom. They would be hard to hear over the general noise of the school, but the wing was currently void of other students and quiet. Each step made him think of how loud they would be in the forest.  


“Hey. Atreus Athanas.” His cover name, provided by his sister. “Look, I'm—I know this is weird and all, but I saw you coming this way. It'd make sense you’d go to where the others aren't.” The boy rambled, stopping somewhere by the sinks. “You don’t have to come out, but I guess—I guess I’m checking on you. Oh, uh, I'm—the guy from homeroom? You punched me in the face?” That had Atreus sinking down and trying to spot the kid through the crack in the stall. It was silent for a moment more before Atreus stepped down and opened the door.  


The kid appeared surprised, taking in his appearance as Atreus inched out.  


“Well, hi.” He said as he readjusted himself. Curly black hair and dark eyes that blended in well enough with the rest of the school. But then again, so did Atreus without his scars. The kid's ID showed more than what he could see in person, too.  


“Uh, hey?” Atreus said, holding tight to his straps and ready to run past if he had to. It must have been obvious as the other boy slouched, trying to appear smaller, though it wasn’t by much. Atreus guessed they were the same height, even if the kid was stockier than himself.  


“I’m Theo. Theodoros if you know full names better. You broke my nose—last week in the classroom. Surprised the hell out of me, my dude.”  


“I think Mr. Wolfram mentioned your name, but I didn’t remember. I didn’t even remember what you looked like so I could apologize.”  


“You land a solid punch on me and then forget what I even look like? What the hell?” His words weren’t malicious, but dug a hot poker into his gut anyways.  


“I wasn't—I wasn't thinking. When that happened.”  


“Well, I'm Theo. That kid. And Mr. Wolfram says your name is Atreus.”  


“Yeah.” Atreus watched him squirm, hesitating with an open mouth before he continued.  


“They say you're dangerous.” And of course that's what Theo brings up.  


“I've heard.” He's been thinking hard on it while trying to sneak past the spider without him noticing.  


“I think you're one of the most dangerous kids here. Based on the tests Wolfram is giving us.”  


“I—I'm sorry I broke your nose.” Atreus finally forced out, feeling a little relief in his twisting stomach. Theo seemed surprised, but he also seemed happy. And relieved.  


“Nah, dude. I should be apologizing. Circe told me—based on the tests, she says—that you're probably magic based. Untrained Empath, and your instincts are probably feral because of where you grew up. The Dark Woods are hard to visit. Can't imagine what it's like to live there.” His words had Atreus' nose scrunching up in thought.  


“. . . I wouldn't really know the difference. I've never been anywhere else.” Atreus pulled up what little he had seen of Themiscyra, and other places he had seen in what little movies and games they owned. But knowing about a place wasn’t anything close to actually having been there.  


“How long you planning on hiding out in this bathroom?” Theo caught his attention again. He appeared more relaxed, full of curiosity as he watched Atreus.  


“As long as I can. I can—hear everyone thinking and talking about me.” That wasn’t saying much more than Theo already knowing he was an Empath. The boy nodded, a slight huff leaving him.  


“Yeah, that can't help your anxiety.”  


“Anxiety?”  


“It's a human thing.”  


“I know that, but--”  


Theo must have had this conversation before as he interrupted, eyes lighting up with interest. He was oozing slight pride, and Atreus picked up on the faint thought that Theo wanted to help him somehow.  


“Lotta immortals don't think it's possible for them to have human afflictions, but no one's really studied it. Circe—she's in our homeroom if you ever get the chance to go—she's super interested in this stuff. She's probably gonna be the one who makes the solid connection between supernatural beings and mental illnesses. I could probably drag her here so she can explain it better.”  


“No, that's fine. It's—hard enough with—” Theo lit up even more as he understood.  


“With just me. You really can feel it all, can't you? Can you read minds?” _‘That'd be cool if you do.’_  


“I guess that's a good thing? It's the emotions that get me first. The thoughts are always a little hard to dig up, and I'm trying not to around here.”  


“I'm surprised Wolfram isn't helping you with that. But then again, he has his hands full with the rest of us.”  


“What do you mean?”  


“Wolfram has this ability that he uses to help the rest of the kids like you. I'm not too sure what it is because it's not a problem for me, but it—kinda puts this invisible wall between you and others. He has to use in on the class sometimes, like, during tests and shit. Stops us all from cheating. Sometimes when kids are fighting.” He paused, a look falling over his face. “There's a couple of demi-gods in the other class who talk about you.” That had Atreus looking to the door, reaching out just a bit farther with his senses before drawing back to see Theo staring.  


“Should we—be talking about this here?” His question had the other boy shrugging.  


“Well, you found one of the most secluded bathrooms in the supernatural side of the school. I think we're fine.” Theo didn't seem too sure on that.  


“I'm not comfortable with this.” Atreus said, stepping closer to the wall. It had been a long week, and Atreus hadn't slept in more days than he ever did before. All he wanted to do was finish the day, make it to Ms. Stella's for his appointment, and go home. He'd probably sleep for a day or something at this point.  


“Did you eat?” Theo drew him back, and his thoughts were full of how tired Atreus appeared.  


“What? I—I don't need to.” He would rather not.  


“Everyone needs to eat. If you're that uncomfortable out there I can bring you--” Theo began to offer, pointing a thumb in the direction of the cafeteria before Atreus waved him off.  


“No, no. It's not . . . It all tastes—fake. It makes me sick.” It was something he noticed with his family as well. There was a few modern snacks that he liked to eat, but he couldn't eat them in large quantities. Immortality didn't offer a solution to evolving genetics, and theirs hadn't changed in ages.  


“Oh. Well, maybe I have something in my locker you'd like better. I'll go look.” Theo offered instead, already heading to the door.  


“No, I'm fine. Just go be with your friends.” That had the boy stopping and giving him a strange look that was buried under speeding thoughts and a whirl of emotions that was hard for Atreus to decipher.  


“I'm trying to be your friend, Atreus.” Theo finally said, showing off a gummy smile that highlighted a scar running down the side of his eye. It reminded Atreus a little of Calliope's and how it pulled at her mouth. “And I don't eat school food either. You're right about it tasting fake. And maybe you'll feel better if you eat. Circe gets that way sometimes. I'll be back!”  


Atreus wasn't sure what else to do, but he waited. By the time Theo popped back in with jerky and a small bottle of water, the bell rang for class again.  


“Thank you.” Atreus bobbed his head, tucking both into the side pocket of his backpack.  


“No problem. It's not the best, but it's good enough to hold me off until I get home.” Theo shrugged. “Though, I'm sure with you living in the woods, you know how to make your own.”  


“I don't make it often. I have a fridge and a freezer, so I don't have to dry meat at all. It's more like a treat.”  


“Oh, cool. I don't go hunting all that often, but when I do I have enough to make jerky. Wolfram's part of the teachers that take us out. Maybe you can join us sometime.”  


“Maybe.”  


“Sweet. See you later, Atreus!” Theo waved, veering off into the math department while Atreus kept walking. He didn't put much stock into what Theo said until the boy literally bumped into him when school ended.  


“So I guess you're going back to Ms. Stella's instead of Wolfram's?”  


“I'm scheduled to.” It was getting easier to talk to him, but there was still a wariness between them. Atreus was positive half of it had to do with his own feelings.  


“What did you do during club hours when the rest of us had appointments with her?”  


“I went home. There wasn't any reason I should have stayed, and I had assigned homework to do. Might as well get that done first.” He didn't really want to admit that he did all his work in the bathroom and spent the rest of his day confined to his house. All Atreus really wanted to do was have free-reign of the forest again.  


“You're telling me you actually get your homework done?”  


“Well, school work's the easiest. The rest of this is—makes my head hurt, you know?”  


“The whole psychic thing.” Theo nodded along.  


“I'm not psychic.” Atreus' answer had Theo grinning again.  


“My dude, most people outside of whatever little world you grew up is just gonna call you psychic. Circe's all hyped about meeting you. She has a lotta questions. But I told her it probably wasn't a good idea to spring—all of that on you just yet.”  


“Thanks.” Atreus noticed a blonde girl waiting nearby, straining to see the two of them but flushed and ducked when he caught her eye. “I think she's waiting for you.”  


“Oh, shit. Probably. Later, dude.”  


“Sure.” Atreus waved as Theo weaved through the crowd, bumping into others sometimes as he tried to reach Circe. She waved back at him, shy but walked close to Theo once he met up with her. Atreus looked around before stepping into the guidance office. There were several other kids hanging around with the counselors and some teachers, but Ms. Stella called to him as she was walking into her office.

* * *

"So how soon is it until I get to go to class?” Atreus asked as he leaned back in his chair. He had finally caught up to where his class should be in the semester. The building headache he had over learning more about Regulations made him wonder just how much worse Calliope had it actually working with them.  


“You'll be able to go class next week. Assuming the board is satisfied with your results after today.” She held his last test up before slipping it into one of the files in her case. “Your class has worked harder than the rest to pass as quickly as they could. They really want to meet you.”  


“I've noticed.”  


“We've also noticed that you don't go to cafeteria during lunch. Is there a problem there, Atreus?” She brushed her curls back, eyes wide as she watched him.  


“It's just a lot. Everyone all at once. And not just human kids, but the others, too. I can feel most of them watching me, and it makes my skin crawl.”  


“And you start to get overwhelmed.” She nodded along, writing on a little notepad.  


“Yeah.”  


“So where have you been going?”  


“The bathroom? It's empty over on our side of the school. And the teachers staying back there are easier to handle than the whole school over in the cafeteria.”  


She offered him a small smile as understanding flowed through her. Memories and experiences of her own lined up with what he was going through, leading him to wonder just who she was before she was introduced to the world.  


“I know it's asking too much of you to even go to class every day. Especially so soon after your first day, and even before then. It's a lot for anyone.”  


“And it'd be too much to hide out here in your office. Especially during the day.”  


“When the other kids come in. I understand.” She finished for him.  


“I don't want to—feel like I'm intruding on them. Because I am, and I wouldn't want anyone to do that to me.”  


“Of course. I'll speak to the board tonight and see if we can grab you extra lessons with Wolfram to try and learn about what ways you can use to protect yourself. It'll take you away from the lunch crowd and help you make some progress on controlling your psychic abilities. He's always been better at teaching that than I have been.” Her smile after saying that was fond, and Atreus felt that they knew each other for a long time.  


“Are you sure he'd be okay with me taking up his lunch hour?”  


“I'll be sure to ask, and if he's okay with it, then I'll ask the board. Okay?”  


“Yeah.” Atreus shared her smile, shoulders dropping and the stinging along his spine leaving. As flustered as Ms. Stella got sometimes, she saw beyond his words to what he really meant.  


“He doesn't eat at school Atreus. It'll be fine.” Possibly because of the whole school food tasting fake. Or, more likely, due to him having an appetite that can't be filled around people.  


“Alright.”  


“Well, I've believe I've held on to you just long enough. You're free to go early.”  


“Thanks, Ms. Stella.”  


“Have a good weekend, Atreus.” She began to collect her own things as Atreus nodded at her.  


“You, too.”

* * *

Once outside, he sat on one of the benches in front of the school underneath the branches of a large tree. It was a small comfort that reminded him of home while he waited for his dad. Checking his phone, he didn't see any new messages. That worried him, as Calliope usually answered within the hour, and the he heard from her was the day before when she called him about some new clothes she picked up for him in France.  


Atreus felt them, heard their thoughts about him, as soon as they walked out of the school doors. It must have been one of the other classes, probably dismissed early like he was. He kept his gaze trained on his phone, starting another message to Calliope just to seem busy. Still, it didn't seem to work as someone from the group approached him.  


“Athanas!”  


That caught his attention. Atreus always felt weird looking at it on his school ID, and he shot a look at the teen approaching him. He wasn't that much taller than Atreus, but shorter than the girl that followed close behind him. The looks on their faces struggled to remain neutral as they approached him, and it unsettled Atreus a little that they would try to hide what they were feeling from him. After what Theo said to him, he was sure most other kids like them would catch on to what he could do.  


“You're the one those tests are about.”  


“Yes.” Atreus wasn't sure how else to respond. They expected more from him, that much he could read, but he had been told countless times by many people to not talk to the others. But they hadn't really told him what to do when any of them approached him first.  


“You don't look as dangerous as they're implying you are.” The girl said, dark hair falling over her shoulder. It was in a high pony tail that reminded Atreus of how Calliope usually wore her hair, but her skin was darker than the tan his sister sported. Her black eyes were deep, and helped to hide most of her emotions from him.  


“I've seen worse.” The boy agreed.  


“Okay.” Atreus tried to go back to his message, but the girl sat down beside him.  


“Don't be so nervous. We're just trying to figure you out.”  


“Yeah, I noticed.”  


“So, you're not up to talking?” The boy crossed his arms, head tilted. Tawny hair in an undercut and light brown eyes almost bordering on copper. He either wasn't trying to hide his true appearance, or he wasn't very good at it.  


“No.” Atreus looked down at his phone, thankful Sindri had upgraded it so only he was able to see the screen. Though it did make showing pictures he took around the forest of the animals he knew to his mother a bit harder.  


“You're acting like a b—"  


“Atreus!” They looked over to see more kids spilling out of the school, Theo in the front with Circe not too far behind him as he approached.  


“Hi, Theo.”  


“Oh, so you're willing to talk to him, but not us?”  


“Probably because Theo might end up being a trickster.”  


“Does that even matter?” Theo asked them.  


“Yeah, kinda.” The girl bobbed her head, crossing both her arms and her legs as she leaned back.  


Atreus didn't want to stick around, since the other classes were leaving now as well. He was majorly tempted to walk back to the woods to avoid them all, but he knew his dad wasn't very far from him. The man was prompt, always on time at the exact second. Atreus would probably only have to deal with this for a few more minutes until his dad pulled up.  


“Hey,” Theo's face popped into view, “you okay? You're starting to zone out again.”  


“I'll be fine. Just gotta focus.” Atreus placed a hand to his temple, trying to zero in on his own thoughts and feelings instead of everyone else's.  


“It's rude to blow us off when you'll readily talk to him.”  


“I'm trying to stop you from being dumb. I mean, look at him. I'm sure Atreus' pretty sick of us right now.”  


“I'm not.” Atreus shook his head as he looked up.  


“Shut up Theo.” Jason cut in.  


“You shut up Jason. We all know I'm made of tougher stuff than you and Xiomara here.”  


“So?” That seemed like a sore subject for the girl as she curled into herself.  


“So, if Atreus is strong enough to break my nose, there's really no telling what could happen to you. Just leave him alone.”  


“I'm with Theo.” Circe spoke up, keeping her voice low.  


“We all know you are.”  


“Leave Circe alone, too.”  


“Just leave everyone alone. We've all seen Atreus now. We've heard him. And I don't mean to be mean about this Atreus,” Circe said to him, keeping her distance and staying behind Theo, “but no one wants you snapping on anyone else.”  


“I get what you mean. I'm trying not to.” Atreus held tighter to his backpack strap, dropping his other hand so it would be free, ready to dash for the car the minute he saw it pulling into the school.  


“So leave him alone. Not just for your own protection, but for his own sake, too.”  


“You're telling me that someone with Amazon training isn't disciplined enough to control himself? Guess they're just building you up to be much more than you are.” Jason huffed, sitting himself beside Xiomara.  


“What?” Atreus felt his heart drop, finally looking at Jason. “Where did you hear that?”  


“Guess you really do live in the dark ages. I'm sure everyone here knows it. Theo and Circe are just being too nice to you, when they're just as nosy as the rest of us.” Jason said, his statement offending the other two.  


“Some of us are being told by our parents, and some of it's online,” Xiomara said, looking at Atreus. “Rumor is you're the secret love child of Princess Calliope. That you're trained like an Amazon.”  


“Probably a Spartan, too, seeing as you're named after one and that's where she was born. You're even using Athanas, when the rest of us have been denied that name.”  


“It'd be even more a shame to her if you weren't trained like she was, though. Right? After her dad and that mess with the Aesir.”  


Atreus stared at them both, adrenaline starting to rush and steadying him. With a slow breath out, he looked to Theo.  


“You knew?” The other teen shrugged, apologetic.  


“I saw it online. I didn't know if you knew—so I went looking for you. I wanted you to be calm in case you did, but I really do want to be your friend. Maybe it's stupid, but I'm impressed you broke my nose.”  


“We don't mean to pry, Atreus.” Circe stepped closer, no longer hiding, but Jason cut her off.  


“Bullshit. Theo's probably just trying to find out if he was abandoned by an Amazonian mother or something.”  


“Just because you were, Jason. Shut up now.”  


“Atreus?” He didn't realize he was shaking his head slightly as he dipped into his own thoughts.  


“Where exactly did you see that I was trained like an Amazon?” He had to know. He had to tell Calliope and Coyote.  


“There's a link to the files in the school club chat online. You should be able to get there by signing up through your school email.” Circe explained.  


“Thanks.”  


“Atreus, we're sorry.”  


“Sorry for what? At least you told me. At least you tried to help me, even if was mostly trying to help others.”  


“So you're admitting you're dangerous.”  


Atreus didn't know what he was supposed to say to that, and not like he could deny it. One of his conversations with Calliope came to mind, and all he wanted to do was leave so he could try to call her. Jason stood with him, about to grab his arm.  


“Atreus!”  


Relief coursed through him as he automatically started walking towards his dad's voice. His glamour was in place, but it didn't hide the fact that he was much bigger than everyone there. Nothing else was said, but he could feel and hear the change in their thoughts from him to his caretaker. Though it hid who he really was, Kratos looking like he spent time in Themiscyra didn't help the anxiety creeping through Atreus over the rumors spreading about him. It was pretty much as fast as some of those movies he watched depicted.  


They had barely turned off the block of the school before Atreus broke the silence.  


“There's a problem.”  


“This has to do with those children surrounding you?”  


“It's what they said to me. They know I was trained like a Amazon by Calliope. Like a Spartan. Something about there being files that say that. And I don't . . . They wanted to know if the rumor was true.”  


“What more than them believing you were trained as you were?”  


“That I'm Calliope's secret love child.” His dad's face was always neutral when he was thinking, emotions and thoughts obscure to Atreus' senses. He asked for more information on it while Atreus did as Circe told him and went searching through the school chat to find the link. By the time they pulled up to their house, his mother was waiting outside with his caseworker.  


“Mr. Coyote?”  


“I received a call from Calliope that there's a problem. I figured it would be best to discuss this here far from any eavesdroppers.” That surprised Atreus, as he hadn't sent any message to Calliope yet about anything.  


“There is a problem. Possibly more than what she has told you.” Kratos told the trickster, leading everyone into the house.  


“After you.” Coyote gestured to Atreus and his mother. She wrapped her arm around his shoulder as she walked him inside, calming him instantly.  


“Are you okay?”  


“I just—don't know what to think right now.”  


“That makes both of us. We'll figure this out.”  


They gathered in his mother's study, Atreus curled up on the armchair by the window. Jörmungandr wrapped himself around him as soon as he sat down, head resting in Atreus' hair. His weight and the texture of his scale served as another security blanket to him, along with the tea his mother made. His hands shook, and he was tired now, but this was his problem, too.  


“Lady Calliope.” Coyote greeted when she appeared on the projection screen. Her hair was a frizzled mess, held back by a sports band by her ear.  


“I'm in my rooms, which is the most secure it gets outside of your forest.” She sounded breathless, a slight shake visible to her hands as she shuffled papers around her.  


“You are sure?”  


“Yes, father.”  


“What have you to tell us?”  


“Baldur knows I'm related to Atreus. He knows where Atreus lives and goes to school.” She took a deep breath, hand reaching for the blade strapped to her wrist under her sleeve. “He doesn't know that you and Faye live there.”  


“How did he find out?”  


“Based on his notes here, they pulled the information straight from Regulations. I'm not sure how far exactly, but enough that there were notes about Atreus' Amazon training. And with that, and my personal involvement, he connected the dots that we're related. Baldur assumes he also has Spartan training, just based off him being named after Atreus of Sparta.”  


“But he thinks I'm your secret love child or something, right?” Atreus tossed in, seeing her face twist into a confused frown.  


“Right. I'm not sure—exactly how he came to that conclusion.”  


“That's the rumor going around school. Their parents are telling them that. And there's something online about me saying I'm your kid.” He set his feet on the floor to lean forward. Calliope nodded as she looked off-screen, probably at her computer screen.  


“Yes, I'm looking at it right now. Almost word for word of what Baldur has in this book here. I would assume Modi couldn't keep his mouth shut about the connections they made between us. Or it could be Baldur trying to do what the hunters showed up to do.” Calliope sighed. “I'm not even sure how your system is run that he didn't pick up on all the information you took on us.” She directed at Coyote.  


“There are several fail safes in place to prevent anyone from digging too deep into our files. As far as the information you sent goes, it tells me that he didn't make it past the first level of security. Tricksters are all about using so much truth to their advantage. In this case, it gave you a plausible reason to be personally involved with Atreus' case without anyone but me truly knowing your story. Other than the spider out in the woods right now.”  


“So Baldur assumes Calliope is Atreus' mother?” Faye asked.  


“With how he interpreted this with all the information he has, yes. Atreus is presented as a trickster god of Olympus. Which is little relief to you, but there has been very few things we have been able to do to keep Baldur out our systems and info circles.”  


“He's persistent, and desperate. I know that better than anyone.” Calliope's eyes narrowed in thought, scar pulling harshly against her mouth.  


“So what? Am I just supposed to pretend that my sister is my mother?” Atreus looked to his parents, hugging Jörmungandr to him.  


“If we're being honest with ourselves, she raised you just as much as we have.” Faye nodded.  


“You don't have to talk about it at school, Atreus.” Calliope added, looking to his caseworker for help. The trickster obliged as he worked on his laptop.  


“Seeing as it's a matter of your own safety, don't. Let everyone assume what they assume. This makes it harder on you, but at least make it so you don't have to keep up with any more stories.”  


“Yeah.”  


“There is more to this problem, with these rumors floating about.” Calliope pressed a hand to her temple.  


“And that is?”  


“The hunter that you helped Sungilah fight in the woods wasn't there to collect a bounty like we thought he might have been. According to what Baldur said to me in person, that hunter and his masters believed they could use Atreus to get to me.”  


“Why?”  


“Apparently they believe Baldur's theory that I will be wherever Loki appears. Or that I could possibly lead them to him.” Calliope flipped through a few pages until she found what she was looking for. “He spoke to one of the trainee survivors from the hunter camp—the child of the hunter in the forest.”  


“The fledgling you stepped in to help?” Coyote looked up when he spoke, suddenly more interested in what she saying than whatever he was drafting up. Calliope nodded.  


“That very one. They said that the tricksters can sense it. That Loki is somewhere in the world right now.”  


“So you hang out here, I appear and get cataloged, they assume I mean something to you.” Atreus ticked off on his fingers, feeling the slight pull from the scabs on his face.  


“Then the masters send the hunter to collect you.” Calliope concluded. “And then that whole mess with Sungilah's case happens. In which case, that all leads me to believe you know something about Loki.” She directed to the trickster. Coyote seemed hesitant before looking at Atreus and continuing.  


“It's as Baldur mentions in his notes, about what the fledgling said. We can feel the world reacting to Loki, acknowledging him, but it's faint.”  


“I assume no first generation trickster would even be interested in looking for him either.”  


“Correct. Most would seek him out to help him grow into what he should have been by now. Which is more help than any other generation beyond the first would receive.”  


“That's understandable, considering he should have been born among them.” Faye added, looking at her desk.  


“But what does that mean for us? Everyone trying to come after me because they think Calliope can find some long lost missing trickster?” Atreus asked.  


“Quite simply: Yes.”  


“And what does that mean for you? I know it's already a lot of trouble trying to come see us, but what are the Amazons and Olympus gonna think about all this?” He turned to Calliope. She reached out, a familiar gesture he knew she made when she was touching her screen. Atreus would normally copy it, as they normally talked on his own computer instead of in his mother's study.  


“Those are issues for me to handle, Atreus. It has been that way since long before you were born.”  


“I'm just worried about you.”  


“I know. But you already have enough to worry about on your own, and this is where you'll that. Understand?” She was closer in age to his parents than she was him, but she always made sure to make him feel included. This felt like another arrow to his chest in the mess that began growing since his birthday.  


“I understand.”

* * *

Atreus sat in his window, looking out through the trees hoping to spot the familiar shimmer of red fur, but mind still reeling with the day. He had sat in silence when Calliope and Coyote had a phone conference with the school board, and later with the addition of Regulations.  


Wolfram agreed to do extra lessons with Atreus during the lunch hour until he was capable of controlling his psychic powers. That lead to a discussion with his mother afterwards about doing their own lessons during the night when both of them didn't need to rest. And then everyone dived into Sungilah's case, and how Atreus needed their protection more than they needed to remain in their father's domain.  


He ruffled his own hair in frustration, enjoying the sensation of his nails along his scalp for a moment before looking back out at the trees. Atreus still held the slight hope that Sungilah would slip out of wherever they were being held. Even with the long-standing—grudge? Rivalry? Probably just a misunderstanding between his father and the fox, Sungilah was still his friend. Atreus knew them the best out of everyone currently jumping into his life.  


“Atreusss.”  


He looked to see Jörmungandr stretching up to him. It wasn't hard to help the serpent up, waiting for him to adjust himself along his shoulders so they could be face to face.  


“You're a time traveling snake from a timeline where Loki was born when he was supposed to be, right?”  


“Loooki . . . my faaather.”  


“Right. You're one of his kids. But there's no sign of you or any of your siblings in our time.” It was just the cursed snake in his lap. But if Loki had gone missing for so long, maybe they weren't born yet.  


“Nooo.”  


“But they were all there in your time?”  


“Yesss. Waaar. Ragnarök.”  


“Since you're one of his kids—wouldn't you be able to tell where he is in our time? Jörmungandr?” He wasn't able to read the snake very well, so he wasn't sure if Jörmungandr just didn't want to talk, or didn't know how to say it. “That's fine. You don't have to tell me. I'd want to protect my dad, too. Even if he can take care of himself. He wouldn't be able to see what I can see. Doesn't know what I know. Your dad's probably the same, right?” It wasn't easy for Jörmungandr to smile, but he did at the question as he looked at Atreus.  


“Yeeesss.” That had Atreus smiling and running his fingers along Jörmungandr’s scales.  


“He can't be as bad as people make him out to be. Not if you love him this much. And with the way Ragnarök is, I doubt he has much control over what happens that starts it. Self-fulfilling prophecies or something. It happens, no matter what we try to do. But with what mom says about the Jötnar, and Jötunheim, that's probably where he is. Because we're the only Jötnar outside of Helheim. And nobody knows that the two of us are alive.”  


“We are sssafe.” Jörmungandr said as he encircled Atreus more.  


“And mom is safe. So Jötunheim is safe. And Loki. You know, I wonder what you looked like as a baby. I wonder if I'll ever get to see baby Jörmungandr, or if the you in this time will already be huge.” Atreus huffed. He just didn't understand how he came to be involved in this entire mess with Loki.  


Jörmungandr’s weight was a comfort, the snake speaking in old languages lulling him to sleep. Atreus was sure it was a story, but he was too tired to pay attention. The last thought he had before falling asleep was of the red flash he saw at the tree line.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am getting this done before the week starts because I have more appointments to do. Also, I gave in and had coffee and sugar. Probably some things I missed in editing, though. Let me know if you see anything.


	6. Just, You Know, Stress

Calliope kept herself carefully blank, hands folded in front of her on the table surface. She was watching the relay of information on the tablet in front of her more than the current speaker on stage in front of the Collective. There was never really much for her to do in the overall meeting. All they ever wanted to hear from her was what little updates she could give on her Amazons; and if she had heard from her father—was he on the verge of going to war with Olympus and/or the Aesir?

Most of the Collective kept quiet; either because they didn't have anything to say, didn't want to be involved, or just wanted to hear the gossip. And some, she had heard, would take silent bets on whether a meeting of the Collective would dissolve into a fight, as it sometimes happened due to gathering various gods of various pantheons together. Calliope's name was usually tossed into at least one bet.

Today, she believed she took up most of them. After her absence from the Collective for so long, and with recent gossip thanks to Baldur, it was more than likely. But it could also be what a few of the gods believed they could get away with doing to her sisters while she was gone as well. Normally she would have her advisors and her guard with her, but they remained back in Themiscyra until she could sort out the issues with the other gods.

“Granddaughter.” Calliope looked up from making dinner plans with her sisters in between discussing current events of the Collective to see the room split between looking at her and Zeus. Among the panel of Olympians in attendance, her grandfather watched her with narrowed eyes. Her aunts and uncles seemed to be whispering among themselves.

“Have you missed me that much? Why, it hasn't even been a month since you tossed me out of Athens.” Calliope was tired and she had no obligation to be kind. Many gods around her also held strong grudges against those who tried to kill them at some point or another. They were often her biggest supporters, on top of those who were displeased with any of the Olympians. Though, she was usually pulled between Zeus and Odin; both god-kings having a bigger issue with each other than her.

“And how long exactly have you been hiding this boy—this Atreus—from his family?” Zeus said, giving Calliope the strong urge to break her own rules and start a fight with the old god. Several messages flashed by on her tablet, each one begging her to come home uninjured. One from the captain of her personal guard threatening to arrive to pull her out had her changing her mind.

“This not a concern for the Collective, but one for Regulations. If you wish to talk, grandfather, you know how to do so.” Calliope fielded. With that, she waited until the Collective was dismissed to gather her things and leave. She was placing her tablet into her bag when she felt a hand grip her arm tight enough to bruise. Instead of Zeus, as she was expecting, it was Baldur.

“So you really haven't gone back to Olympus, have you?” He said, leaning against her table.

“Would you, if your father did what Zeus did to me?” She gripped his wrist and freed her arm, poking at the spot to assess how bad it was going to be.

“Baldur. Stay out of Olympian business. The Princess is correct. None of this is a concern for the Collective.” Odin said as he walked by. Calliope gripped her own arm, the pain centering her a bit as Baldur went striding after his father.

As angry as she was over what Baldur was doing, she knew it was out of desperation and the hope that his father was capable of breaking his curse. As he was the only god outside of Vanaheim, and Freya, who knew anything about Vanir magic, it was all Baldur had.

Calliope found herself sitting on the edge of a fountain in the garden. The trees and flower beds surrounding her spot were nothing like those wild plants in the Dark Woods, but it held the same sort of peace that she found with her family.

The stone beneath her was cool, and the trickling water was calming. There was a slight breeze, carrying the perfumed smells of the flowers to her as she leaned back. The sun was warm, leading her to wonder if her aunt and uncle were doing alright with Zeus' current level of suspicion.

“Calliope,” She opened her eyes to see Odin watching her from the main garden path. “You seem to be struggling with the precedence set for you.”

“Odin,” Calliope greeted him, offering a sweet smile. “Where's Thor?” There was always a slight tug on her mouth when she smiled, and she was sure the old man focused on the scar on her face.

It nearly matched the one she gave his son, and she took pleasure from the frown in his face. Calliope knew it was a sore spot for Odin that his son was banned for causing too many fights among the Collective. Another that a minor goddess with limited access to the power in her blood had permanently injured possibly the strongest god of his own pantheon. Even just the fact that she survived one more thing she shouldn't have had him clenching his jaw.

“We have watched you grow into the warrior you are today. I am sure I have seen you more than your own grandfather has. And it seems you truly are your father's daughter.” Odin offered, stepping off the path to stand before her. “The drive I see in my sons when it comes to you matches only that of Zeus' campaign against Kratos.”

“It's no secret to how I was raised,” She said, feeling that bubble of rage that was always in her stomach disperse to lay as a layer of energy boiling just under the surface of her skin. Calliope never expected the god-king to give in and start a fight so close to other divine leaders, but she was trained to be prepared to fight for her life at any moment. It made the bruise on her arm burn even more, and emphasized the ache in her neck and shoulders.

“I agree,” He nodded along, her struggle with her powers going unnoticed. “You are an open book, but few gods among the Collective have been able hide their children half as well. Fewer still keep them hidden for so long. And none of them from a mortal background. So I wonder how deep your secrets go. Why exactly haven't you gone back to Olympus, Calliope? End your own pain.” That, she reacted to by sitting up straight. The stinging on her face let her know that she appeared as angry as she felt, the tightening of her stomach giving her no room to be upset over falling for his little trick.

“I wonder what it says about you, that your own son doesn't tell you everything he knows? And secondly, can you even guess which son I'm talking about? Remember to take a look at your own life before coming for mine. Have a good evening.” She grabbed her bag and left before he could finish speaking, walking deeper into the garden through the trees.

“ _To you as well_.”

She pressed the base of her palm to her temple as her phone rang. There were a few messages from her sisters that she missed, possibly being the reason for the captain of her guard to call her.

“Calliope?”

“I am fine, Alexis.” She knew her voice gave away that she was not fine.

“Would you like us to escort you home?”

“No. I'd rather none of you come close to the Collective. I trust them only as far as the sidewalk of the palace when it comes my girls.” Calliope looked back, on the edge of the garden where the trees met the wilderness. There was the stream that marked the border of the palace grounds, feeding water into the smaller fountain built into the tree she approached. Very few of the Collective ventured out this far, and it would give her the freedom to gather herself in peace.

“We are your sisters, Calliope. You have trained us yourself. We have faith in both.”

“I know you do. I still have much to do here. Shouldn't be more than two hours.”

“Please, make it home. Preferably unharmed.”

“I will come home.” She promised before hanging up, sitting on the bench built around the wooden fountain. Calliope set her hand in the water, letting the chill calm the boiling energy in her skin.

“You're busy these days.” Calliope looked up to see the woman sticking close to the tree across from her. Ash blonde hair lay in a heavy braid over her shoulder, and she was dressed plainly.

“Nanna.” Calliope sat up, leaving her hand in the water. The other goddess joined her on the bench, offering a small smile. Calliope didn't believe she dressed opulently, but her simple armor and disguised weapons were glittering next the simple linen clothes Nanna wore. Even the dagger strapped to Calliope's thigh was more imposing than the simple knife the goddess carried.

“I thought you were ignoring me, but I guess you have no reason to tell me everything going on with you.”

“Your fiancé doesn't make things any easier for me.” That had Nanna's face falling, apologetic and sad.

“There's nothing I can do about Baldur. He—he listens only to you, it seems.” She shrugged. Calliope fought the urge to tell Nanna to try to escape the engagement. It was possible and no one would fault her, but the goddess was stubborn in her own right. “Most of his orders go to him through Magni, but he doesn't follow those anymore either. And with the spell on him—"

“It is a curse, Nanna.”

“Curses are a type of spell, Calliope.”

“In my experience, a spell like that is a curse.” Those memories and thoughts were too close to the surface, as they sometimes were. It almost seemed like everything around her was determined to make Calliope think on it when she had no desire to.

“This just shows me that he has no use for me. Even his enemy can understand him better than I do.”

“Nanna, you do not exist to be of use to Baldur. You are a goddess in your own right with your own powers. Does he even know how your powers work?” Calliope grabbed her hand, forcing herself away from nightmarish thoughts. Nanna turned her hand over to hold onto Calliope's wrist, taking comfort.

“I believe—you're the only one who does. Everyone only views me as his future wife. And I've heard them call me the washed out Aesir version of Freya. They don't see whatever worth you have found in me.” Calliope huffed, shaking her hand free of water to use both to hold Nanna's.

“You know what I think of that.”

“As you have been saying since you were a child.” Her words had Calliope grinning, head tilting with a light chuckle.

“You're not that much older than I am, Nanna.”

“Older than you, I am,” She agreed, the smile slowly slipping off her face, “but your experiences—I don't have those.” Calliope nodded, letting go to place her own hand back in the water.

“And I hope you never do.”

“I never meant—"

“I know, Nanna. What do you have for me?” That seemed to settle the other goddess enough as she reached for the case beside her. She pulled out a journal, a larger version of the one Calliope had taken from Baldur. Plain leather cover and handmade paper. “I'm also assuming Baldur steals his supplies from your office.”

“Correct, and I don't have much. Freya doesn't hide herself, but my magic is no match for hers. I guess this is where my invisibility comes into it's best use.”

“You're not invisible.” Calliope said, looking up from flipping through the pages.

“I'm just not noticed,” Nanna said before she could. “She doesn't perform many spells outside of her house, and the few I've witnessed were manipulations of her environment. There's only so much I can do with just descriptions of the plants in her garden, and even then there's nothing I've been able to find on any of these. She destroyed all the written works of her magic when she separated from Odin.”

“And he won't help us.”

“Calliope?” Nanna hesitated, lacing her fingers together. “You don't have to tell me anything about the boy, but . . . he's the reason you've been working so hard recently to break the spell, isn't he? Because if we succeed, Baldur will leave your family alone. The All-Father will have nothing to hold over him.”

“. . . I can check the libraries of Themiscyra to see if we have anything matching the descriptions of her garden. If you need, my sisters can help you in collecting samples to test them for their properties.” Calliope chose to take Nanna's offer of silence on the matter, grateful that she was among the few Aesir that didn't take part in Odin's schemes.

“Thank you. How likely would it be that you would be able to earn a few samples from Baldur for me?” That had Calliope shooting a dry look at the goddess, who grinned. “You are his favorite warrior. He'd be happy to lose a limb to you. I've seen it before, and it would be no issue.”

“I am sure all you have to do is ask, Nanna.” Calliope returned her grin. “Or, you can always fight him yourself.”

“I'm sorry. I'm not exactly an Amazonian Princess who's actually the beloved daughter of the Greek god of war.”

“Neither was I. And between us who was born an immortal goddess with her own dominion, and who was born a sickly mortal?”

“There you girls are.” They looked over to see a gray coyote trotting over to them. Calliope smiled, realizing that his head didn't change no matter what form he took. She didn't know if there was a limit to his shifting abilities or if he kept it so he would be recognizable. It was a comfort when compared to the ever changing appearance of the spider.

“Hello, Coyote. Is it time?”

“Yes. Thanks to your notoriety, Calliope, it seems even more of the Collective is interested in our work with the fledglings.” Coyote said, waiting as Calliope pulled Nanna to her feet. The Aesir goddess laughed lightly, still grinning as she spoke.

“If it makes you feel better, Calliope, I always bet on your name. And I usually win.”

“Glad to be of some use.”

* * *

Baldur watched from a distance as Nanna blushed bright red as Calliope and the tricksters around them teased her. He couldn't hear what was being said over the general noise of the room, but Calliope's ringing laugh was clear as it reached him. The Aesir goddess had her arm looped through the Amazon's, leaning quite heavily on her as she fanned her face.

He hummed to himself as he watched them interact, wondering just when his fiancée became too comfortable with the warrior princess that usually had her sword aimed for any part of him she could reach.

Though he had to admit he didn't talk to the woman much, and their conversations usually came down to the goddess' devotion and faith in her own beliefs. She was nearly an outcast among the other Aesir, a plain and simple woman, but Baldur liked her well enough compared to the rest. Still, it interested him that she was relaxed enough to have a seemingly better relationship with the Amazon and the tricksters.

He noticed her splitting from the group, hand lingering on Calliope's as she passed the case she carried to the woman.

“Nanna,” Baldur said as she passed in front of him, stiffening up a little as she hadn't noticed him. “I didn't expect you here.” She gave him a small shy smile, uncomfortable and closed off compared to how she looked standing next to Calliope. He raised a brow at the visible difference, making a mental note on it. Part of him was curious enough to want to look into the women's camaraderie.

“I've told you before that I volunteer with the tricksters,” She said, voice little and light. Nanna straightened up, hands reaching up to play with the braid that fell over her shoulder. Baldur remembered that the two were close in age, and it would be all too easy for Nanna to slip away from the rest of the Aesir to do whatever she was working on. Her business was unknown to him other than she had use of plenty of office supplies, and she didn't mind him making use of it.

“Yeah, they would need your gifts.” He nodded, barely recalling what little he knew of her powers. There was something about her that eased the suffering of those around her, and if the goddess could help him through his curse, Nanna was capable of helping the children in a significant way than Calliope was able to. Money and resources were one thing, but the ability to connect was an entirely different approach to their situation.

“It makes me happy to work with them. And I know you fight with Calliope all the time, but she does good work with these kids.” Nanna shrugged, not meeting his gaze when she spoke of the Amazon in an even quieter tone.

“I never said she didn't. But, what's a warrior compared to a goddess of joy?” That had Nanna blushing slightly. Not as bright as when Calliope did so.

“I don't know war and suffering like the two of you do. But I do know both of us are needed to understand and help these children.” Her answer had him pausing, taking in her smile and the nearly silent confidence underneath. There was a larger difference between Nanna with the Aesir and Nanna with the Amazon and the tricksters. Whatever she found with them was better than what she would find with their people.

“. . . It's good to see you're not caught up in the rest of this bullshit, Nanna,” Baldur finally said, tilting his head towards where his father was seated.

“Thank you.” She bobbed her head, face falling as she looked at the old god. Nanna hesitated, visibly stuck between moving on and continuing their conversation. With a small breath in, she folded her hands at her waist and looked to him. “Baldur?”

“What?”

“I—I've worked with Calliope longer than I have ever talked with you,” She said, voice the tiniest bit stronger. “And it might be asking too much, but please, just leave the boy alone. Whoever this Atreus is, and how he relates to Calliope doesn’t really matter to me other than the fact that he's important to her.” That had Baldur lifting himself out of his leaning position to better look at the goddess.

“Why are you asking me that?” He was genuinely curious at seeing the flush to her face. Nanna barely spoke to him, and never did she request anything of him. Not even to end their engagement when it appeared she had no strong interest in him.

“I feel like I'm the only one who can,” She admitted, looking over to the Amazon. “I'm your fiancée, and Calliope is my—friend. My best friend. And I just want us all to be happy again. My only hope is to keep both of you in my life. But you wouldn't care if she died in a true, even fight with you, right?” She stopped herself and sighed.

“I'm getting ahead of myself. I have to go. The meeting with the tricksters will start soon, so I suggest taking your seat.”

Baldur watched her walk off, collecting two waters from the refreshment table and taking them back to Calliope. The Amazon flashed the goddess a bright smile when she returned, and became concerned when Nanna didn't return it. Taking her advice to find his seat, Baldur missed seeing the next exchange between the women.

“Nanna? Are you alright?” Calliope asked, running her hand along the goddess' arm. Nanna took a deep breath and nodded.

“I'm fine. Tell your sisters I'll be heading out towards Freya's tonight.” She glanced over to where the Aesir representatives were seated, telling Calliope everything she needed to know as she focused on Baldur. The god was giving her a strange look.

Deciding to ignore him, she wrapped an arm around Nanna's shoulders and led her towards the other ambassadors working with the tricksters.

“They will be waiting for you.”

* * *

Calliope fought the urge to tap her pen against the table as Regulations and the Superintendents and school councils met and discussed their business. She wasn't looking forward to Coyote having to discuss Atreus' case.

Calliope had wanted to avoid talking about him, especially since she knew her rumors would drag in more of the Collective into trickster business. Before today, she had a long talk with Faye to keep herself calm. Her step-mother suggested keeping the focus on Sungilah's involvement, as much none of them wanted the fox to carry the burden of them hiding Atreus for so long.

It left a bad taste in Calliope's mouth. Sungilah and the spider were the only ones who knew Atreus outside of their small family, and neither of them had outed her little brother until the hunter showed up. Probably Iktomi's bid to help his child. She let out a slow breath as the main discussion turned towards Sungilah's case. The spider was particularly antsy the longer the meeting went on. Calliope was almost sure he would break his composure soon if he didn't see the fox spirit.

Nanna grabbed her hand underneath the table, giving her a reassuring squeeze the moment the doors opened to admit the fox and their step-mother. When Calliope looked up, she was stunned upon seeing the trickster slumped in a wheelchair.

Sungilah's head was lolling back and forth as they struggled to look at their surroundings. They seemed even younger, hair a tangled mess that seemed to have grown fast in their time away from the Dark Woods. Calliope didn't realize she was standing until she found herself following behind the spider to kneel in front of the younger trickster.

“What the hell is this?!” Calliope wasn't sure if she said that, or if the spider did as he shoved at the people who were pushing the chair.

“We had to restrain her—" Calliope shook her head clear as she stood to face them, pulling the pin from her hair comb and pointing it at the guard.

“How would you like it if we chained you down?” She questioned him, feeling Sungilah's light brush against her hand. “Get those restraints off her. Now!” The spider pushed past her hold Sungilah's face.

“Mic'inca kin.” He patted their cheek, trying to get them to focus. Calliope joined him, brushing the stringy strands of hair back. Without the self-styled hair cut, the long hair and the buckskin dress pushed Sungilah more towards feminine than the androgynous look they had in the Dark Woods.

“ _Até_. Calliope?” The fox's eyes looked between them lazily as their father held their face. Red eyes as dull as their hair, glazed.

“You said Sungilah was being held in your domain. With your wife.” Calliope said as she rubbed their wrist after the restraint was removed.

“I put her there myself,” The spider admitted, bloody eyes swirling with a storm of emotions, “but I haven't exactly been around to keep her there. No matter how strong I make the laws of my domain, half of her will always be exempt from those.” Sungilah gripped Calliope's wrist in a burst of strength before it quickly left the trickster.

“I had to go back. I had to make sure . . .” There was panic in Sungilah's voice, but their eyes remained unchanged. Calliope took over holding their head up, tilting it back to get a better look.

“You were sedated?” She asked, watching as their hand slipped from her wrist.

“. . . Yes.” Their answer had the spider turning to his wife, who stood outside the circle of guards escorting the fox. She hugged herself, standing close to Coyote. Calliope bit her lip, but it seemed the spider was more concerned about his child than his wife.

“ _Win mitawa_.” It wasn't phrased as a question. More a demand, to which she pushed through to see him better.

“I can't keep up with a child who's half phantom. _Tokala akichita_ —and her mother.” She sighed and shook her head. “Those spirits fight within her. Even as your wife, I have to say it wasn't smart of you to have a child with an evil spirit. Too much darkness and chaos in one being.”

That was the problem. There was no way for them to know if Sungilah acted on their own, or if it was the evil spirit that possessed them like it did their mother that killed those in the hunter camp.

“What all did she say to you?” The spider continued, pulling Sungilah from the wheelchair to cradle them in his lap on the floor. His wife watched them, face scrunching up as she thought back.

“It was hard to tell who exactly it was I was talking to. There were times she was lucid enough to talk to me about it, but other times—it was the evil spirit. It would . . . it bragged about what it did to those hunters. It laughed about the problems it was causing her.” She said, scratching the area just behind her ear where the hair came loose from her braid. “I recorded as much as I could in writing, since it broke every electronic device I tried to use.”

“You're saying the evil spirit possessing Sungilah is what breaks our tech?” Calliope looked up at the woman. There was pain in the woman's eyes as she watched her husband with his child. It took a bit of digging for Calliope to feel for the woman. She wasn’t wife-and-stepmother-of-the-year, but she cared for the fox more than expected. And not only as the sole survivor of generations of tricksters lost—though that was huge reason for many to care about the young trickster spirit.

“That's what it seems like. It's hell-bent on isolating her.”

“Sungilah has to go back to the Dark Woods.” Calliope's head shot up from where she kneeled on the ground. Wolfram was standing from his seat, face stiff as he looked around the room. “Continue with the trial and proceedings of their crime, but the possibility of evil spirit escaping is even greater if you insist on keeping them in Iktomi's domain.” There was a small roar of agreement among the majority of the tricksters, the gods of the Collective confused in their seats behind them. This was the one platform where they had no say in the workings of.

“Motion to reinstate Sungilah in the Dark Woods until further notice.” Coyote called out, searching the crowd. They didn't have to wait long until a bright and bored voice called out.

“Seconded.” Puck, the trickster hobgoblin called out, his raised hand falling heavily to slam on his table. Wolfram nodded gratefully as he stepped down from his table to approach the floor.

“That means she will be your responsibility, Wolfram, on top of your duties to your school district.” Coyote said, gripping the teacher's forearm. He nodded, dark hair falling over his eyes, emphasizing the strange glow to them.

“I understand that, and I am willing to take both on,” Wolfram said, voice carrying over the room. “I now have a full-time assistant if that assuages your worries.”

“It does, Wolfram.” Coyote nodded, dismissing the guards and the gods of the Collective. Calliope stood, taking her water from Nanna while carefully setting aside her poisoned hairpin. Her hands shook, to which the other goddess tried to sooth her by rubbing her free hand between hers.

“You'll do your job.” Iktomi was standing now, staring down at the wolf. Calliope thought back to a conversation she had with Atreus over the near-fight between them. Now that she saw them together, she understood the tension Atreus had trouble describing to her over a call.

“We both know why I will, _até_.” Wolfram's head was bowed, but he refused to look away as he took Sungilah from the spider. The fox had fallen asleep, curling tighter as they were shifted around. Iktomi, however, had to be dragged away by his wife and Coyote before he started a fight with the teacher.

“You'll be fine taking Seung back?” Calliope asked when he walked up to her. It was then that she noticed the similar features they shared in their humanoid forms.

“Yes. I know your reasons for not joining me, Calliope.” His words, said discreetly, had her offering him a small smile. “Is there anything you want me to pass on to Atreus?” Her face fell at that. She wanted nothing more than to speak to him, but there was nothing more than passing on her assurances that everything was fine. In which case, with all eyes focusing on her had her feeling like everything was crashing and burning instead.

“No. He'll understand. He has to,” She said, clenching her jaw before forcing her face to relax as she looked at him again. “Thank you, Wolfram.”

“Of course, Lady Calliope.”

* * *

Calliope was curled up on her office chair, staring blankly at her laptop and tablet. She only moved when a light _ping_ alerted her to a new message.

_'They're here. We're going in.'_

She was tempted to send a reply, but didn't want to risk distracting her sisters or the goddess.

“You are not going with Nanna?”

Calliope looked over at the captain of her personal guard. The woman was stationed near the door, but gave her a curious look. Alexis was more relaxed when they were alone—a refreshing change compared to the lasting silence of her former guards. She spoke first more often, treating Calliope as nothing more than another of her sisters. That was more comforting than the strict postures and procedures of the old guard. Though part of her was sure it had to do with Alexis knowing Calliope was more dangerous than she could ever be as a relative human.

“You know I can't Alexis. As much as I would like to, Freya would sense me in her domain by a single strand of hair.” That had the woman rolling her eyes, and Calliope gave her flat grimace as she waiting for the Amazon to speak.

“To be that angry with you. What did you and your father do to upset her so badly? Lord Kratos—I'm sorry to say I would believe almost anything that's said about him. If you were involved, he wouldn't hold back for anything.” Alexis' gaze was mostly trained on the door, but positioned her body so as not to shut Calliope out as they conversed.

“I know.”

“You, however, were just a child when you were in Midgard. Freya was a fully mature Vanir goddess. And this was before you were a deified goddess yourself.” Alexis wasn't watching her, but Calliope did her best to hide the shiver than ran through her at the reminder.

“That's true, but there is more to the story. It seems that's been forgotten over time. It hits me sometimes—just the fact that everyone who knew what happened are gone now. That Queen Hippolyta has been dead for centuries.” There was always a palpable feeling in the air whenever anyone brought up the fact that Calliope was older than every Amazon alive in modern times. Having been gifted ambrosia so early in her life, and throughout it, kept her appearance very young compared to her actual age. She guessed she would be around her thirties or so, but it was always hard to tell being surrounded by the descendants of divine beings. Even the smallest amount of supernatural genetics counted for something, and it usually had to do with slowing the physical aging.

“I can't imagine watching everyone you know and your people dying out. That would be the one advantage to being mortal, isn't it?”

“Yes. Immortality is not all it's made out to be. Spartans and Amazons . . . This is how things are because of my father and myself.”

“Many Amazons in your time were ruthlessly killed by no choice of their own. And if it was their choice, I don't understand it.”

“You grew up in a world where my father doesn't favor me heavily over the rest of the Amazons.” Calliope brought up. There were still many texts about Ares, and they still celebrated Hippolyta. But it was true that her father wasn't around to favor Calliope over the other Amazons, versus Ares showering Hippolyta in gifts over his other Amazonian daughters.

“We live in a world where he doesn't interfere with our way of life. But I fully believe he would stand by us as he did with the last of the Spartans.”

“I believe he would as well.”

“Depressing conversation aside, what are we missing from the original story of why Freya hates your guts?” That had Calliope snorting, uncurling her limbs as she thought back.

“Well, I'm just as stubborn as my father, if not more so.”

“That I can believe, having been your captain for at least a decade now.”

“And you know the stories of how Thor lost his eye, right?”

“I've been told that that's your handiwork. One of the first instances of your powers manifesting?” Alexis finally looked at her, curiosity clear in the air between them.

“It pays to be Zeus' granddaughter when facing off against a thunder god. Well, it was one of the first uses of my powers. My bones still ache thinking about it.” She rubbed her arms, clenching her teeth against the phantom pain. “Someone as mortal as me was not meant to handle that much power. But I was so angry—righteously furious after finding out why Baldur couldn't die. In the middle of a life-or-death battle, of all things. Of course my parents did everything they possibly could to prevent me from dying in Sparta for being sick as a small child. Preventing a needless death. Both of my parents and Freya had the same goals.”

“Immortality causes a lot of problems when you were born mostly mortal.”

“But it hasn't affected me negatively like the spell she cast on Baldur has done to him. I've flourished where his mind—he's devolving into chaotic mess, and there's no telling what will happen when he finally breaks.”

Nanna was correct when she asked if Calliope was trying even harder since Atreus was born. She didn't want her brother to live in the same dire situation as his parents when he was finally eased into the world. And she had doubled her efforts since he was exposed to Regulations. Calliope made a small note on her laptop to call Mimir for help before turning back to Alexis.

“So how does that bridge the gap between why Freya hates you and tearing Thor's eye out?”

“To summarize: I was an angry teenager who swore I would do anything within my power to break her spell on Baldur. And then was able to tap into whatever powers I inherited from Zeus to use Thor's powers against him. Which resulted in me tearing out his eye.” And earning a nearly matching scar of her own.

“And you survived? Forgive me for saying it, Princess, but I've seen you after you've used your powers. You always seem to be on the verge of death.”

“Honestly, that's how it feels. I was born the majorly mortal daughter of a half-mortal Spartan General. Immortality was an improvement, which greatly affected how I grew, obviously.”

“Then . . . your grandfather invited you to Olympus.”

“Yes.” Calliope appreciated that Alexis didn't dig too deep into that.

“I know I speak for your entire personal guard when I say this, Calliope,” She began, “but I'm glad we have you. I know Hippolyta was a great queen, and you loved her like your actual sister, but I don't believe I would have been as happy as I am today under her rule. I don't mean to brush off the struggle of your first sisters and adjusting to a new deity versus the one who created them.”

“I understand what you mean.”

“I'll always stand by you. All of Themiscyra knows you have my support. I hope this Atreus knows that as well.”

“I'll tell him you said so.” Calliope watched her captain for a moment as she thought. “What is it, Alexis?”

“Are you absolutely sure we can't just take Nanna from the Aesir? Themiscyra has always welcomed her. And it would be much better than her remaining among the Aesir.” Alexis' familiar request had Calliope sighing.

“We aren't going to steal her away. Nanna has her own purpose in Asgard, and you have heard her recount her goals and dreams to me many times.”

“Exactly. I believe she would do much better among the Amazons. And how is Baldur any better than you?”

“We've been told he's a much better man without that stupid curse on him.”

“Neither of you were alive when he was that man.”

“Nanna has the resources and reasons to escape her engagement, but she hasn't. I suspect it has to do with being able to get close to him without it being too suspicious.”

“Like if it were just you.”

“Not everyone has to love me, Alexis. No one has to fall in line with my own beliefs. I'm grateful you trust my judgment most of the time, so please. Trust me when I say things are fine as it is.”

“Excuse me for saying this if it's disrespectful to you,” She raised her hands, smiling as she looked Calliope in the eye, “but I say when you finally break his curse—take both Nanna and Baldur form the Aesir.” Calliope felt the look on her face that made Alexis giggle like a girl before the guard turned back towards the door.

“Why are you so ready to marry me off, Alexis?”

“I want to see you happy. And I may be watching too many wedding shows lately.”

“Thank you for the vote of confidence, but I doubt either Nanna or Baldur like me the way you believe they might.”

“I am an objective outsider, so maybe I have a better view of your relationships than you do.”

“I adore you, Alexis, and I value your input. But please, refrain from trying to also marry me off to our server tonight.”

“I make no promises, Princess.”

* * *

Atreus had been shooting for hours, to the point that his arms and shoulders and fingers hurt.

The faint memory of what he saw before he fell asleep on Friday drove him to dash out the door as soon as he woke up. The entire forest was void of both the red fox and the spider. The trees seemed to welcome him, and the animals followed him and Jörmungandr curiously. Other than them, and a few humans that were freaking out on the edge of the woods, he was the only one in the woods that day.

“Jörmungandr. I don't get it. Was I dreaming, or did I actually see Sungilah? Because you said you weren't looking out the window.”

“Noo.”

“And as far as Ms. Stella tells me, the Spider's supposed to stay in the forest so Seung doesn't do anything crazy while they're in trouble. Which makes me wonder why in the first place. But also, what happened? Because I'm positive I saw them. I mean, I know what they look like. I've known them my whole life. It'd be pretty hard for me to mistake them. And you would know if it wasn't them, right?”

“Yesss.”

He drove himself in a complete circle of questions and conspiracy until he collapsed with absolutely nothing else to do.

Atreus was lying on a tree branch, Jörmungandr coiled on his stomach, staring at the darkening sky when a bright light appeared in his peripheral vision. He looked over to see headlights, but as far as he knew neither of his parents used the car Calliope bought them except for when his dad drove him to and from school. And he didn't recognize it as either car that belonged to Mimir and Sindri. Thinking about, he wondered if Brok ever drove—

He patted Jörmungandr’s head, waking the snake, who quickly noticed the car.

“You recognize that?”

“Noo.”

They remained in the tree, Atreus slipping down to the lower branch to watch it. It seemed to be going towards his house, which concerned him as he shot of a quick text to his mother and followed the car at a distance.

It was a black SUV, but something about it kept him from being able to peer inside it. Even with Jörmungandr following it on the ground afforded him no more information on it. All he could pick up from the serpent's thoughts on it was that it smelled like it came from the city. That was no different than any car that came into the forest, but none of those were able to find the magically hidden road that lead to their house.

Not unless—

Atreus dropped down from the trees, scooping up Jörmungandr and running after the car at a dead sprint.

“At-treuss—"

“Sorry, it's just—"

He slid to a halt when he saw the car break and stop. He waited in the trees, holding his breath as the door opened. He saw black hair and the serene face of his homeroom teacher, but Atreus didn't focus on Wolfram when he noticed the red-orange fur ball curled up in his arms.

“Seung!” He hopped over stones and lose tree limbs, which seemed to move out of his way once they realized who had returned.

Black ears twitched, and dull red eyes took a moment longer to focus on him. The fox seemed small in the elder trickster's arms, and the lethargy they showed had him concerned by the time he bounced up to his teacher.

“Sungilah's been sedated. That's why you're not getting much of a reaction.”

“But they'll be fine, right?” Atreus asked as he took the sleepy fox into his arms. Jörmungandr was still curled around his torso, and moved until his head was resting on the fox's. Sungilah was making a whining-whistling sound at them, wiggling in his arms the best they were able to until Atreus sat down against a tree.

“They'll be fine, but I'm afraid we'll have to keep them like this.”

“Why?”

“. . . I'm not sure how much you know about Sungilah, but you know their mother was an evil spirit?”

“Not be choice.”

“Well, Seung is the same way, Atreus. We have reason to believe that they weren't entirely in control of themselves when they attacked the hunter camp—"

“The one the hunter Iki left to the _wanagi_ came from?” Atreus looked up after cuddling the fox into his sweater, which seemed to calm them down.

“Yes. That one.”

“What—exactly happened? I've only been told they took care of the camp, but I've gotten no details.” He scooted father back from the elder trickster, watching as Jörmungandr encircled the fox as well. “I get that people don't want to tell me details—because I'm an empath and stuff. But I have to deal with the aftermath, don't I? I mean, I know that the hunter that came here died horribly. The wanagi aren't exactly nice spirits.”

“No, they aren't.” Wolfram agreed, crouching down to be eye level with him. “Atreus . . . it's highly probably that Sungilah was possessed, but they slaughtered the hunter camp. Usually only the coalition they belonged to would petition the gods to reprimand the being that did so.”

“But the gods usually don't care because the hunters go after anyone for a profit.”

“Correct. And the camp themselves had various crimes of even more varying degrees on their own plate. Such as harboring and abusing trickster fledglings.”

“But?”

“But for the fact they lived disguised among innocent humans. They were mixed into the carnage, which makes what Seung did a crime. Very few of them survived, along with a couple of trainees. Their accounts of what happened match up with what Ikto—Iki's wife recorded the evil spirit saying in between periods of lucid thought from Seung.”

“But you were able to bring Seung home.”

“The land here—the spirit of the forest helps keep Seung in their own mind. And whenever something else happens to take control, there's the wanagi to keep them sated until Sungilah can wrestle control back from them.” Wolfram's eyes landed on the fox curled into Atreus' stomach, and he reached out to run a finger just under their eye. “I believe it's feeding off their feelings of turmoil. So until the case is closed, and/or you prove to them that you can handle the world on your own, we'll have to keep Seung majorly sedated.”

“But you can't! You can't affect their entire life just because of me.”

“It's not just because of you Atreus.” Wolfram sighed, looking back to the car. “How about we take this to your parents so we can discuss this in further detail?”

“Okay.” Atreus accepted help from his teacher to stand and adjust himself in the car. Ms. Stella gave him a sad smile, waiting until Wolfram's door was closed before heading back up the driveway.

Atreus looked up to see his parents waiting outside, weapons out until they saw their son slipping out of the backseat. He lifted the fox in his arms, the small flash of red fur giving them more reason to relax. Wolfram gestured for Atreus to walk ahead of him and Ms. Stella. His mother immediately reached for him, taking him and his passengers into her arms while the two behind him stepped towards his father.

“Good evening. I'm Wolfram, Atreus' homeroom teacher. This is my assistant and his advisor at the school, Ms. Stella.”

“Hello.” She bowed, an awkward movement, and was visibly nervous in front of his father.

“We have also been recently appointed as Sungilah's guardians while their case is ongoing,” Wolfram continued. “Seeing as you live in their domain, there's a lot we have to go over with you.”

Atreus watched at his parents shared a look, his mother taking the time to search both staff members with her eyes. He wasn't sure what she was looking for in their thoughts either, but she turned to his father and nodded.

“We can go over everything in the dining room. I'm currently in the middle of making dinner if neither of you have eaten yet, and I'm sure to have something that fits into either of your preferred diets.” His mother offered, already moving Atreus towards the house. “I would like to get to know both of you better before diving right into business. And it'll give Atreus the time to get Sungilah settled in her weakened condition.”

Atreus took that as the go-ahead to leave his parents with his teachers. Once inside his room, he untangled himself from the serpent and the fox. He made sure to wrap Sungilah back up in his sweater, and created a little covered nest for them in his window with a pillow and a blanket. The fox slept through it all, leaving Atreus and Jörmungandr to sit on the floor and watch the small rise and fall of the blanket as they breathed.

“What's even happening anymore?” Atreus asked, not being met with an answer as he habitually ran his finger's along the serpent's scales. A horrible feeling settled into his stomach, and he wasn't sure if it was just him or one meant to tell him of things to come.

Something else inside him whispered that it was both.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, how about I give them a little happy moment sometime? That'd be great, me. Make it happen.


End file.
